Fate's a Fickle Foe
by KaydenceRei
Summary: The incident changed everything, and yet, fate draws them all onto the island anyways. The bomb went kablooey, now Juliet never went to the island. People are on the plane who weren't before. Including Juliet, Edmund, Miles and more. What can happen?
1. The Crash

**Author's Note**: Okay guys. This is another season 6 reset story!! Big thanks to **teh-Sara **and **Mad Steph** for helping me go with it!

Credit for the plot of Juliet on the plane goes to **Adulterous Whore**. She's nicely allowing me to go with it :)

**Fate's a Fickle Foe**:

_He intoxicated my heart, it's numb and broken._

_Only you can save it, one intoxicated heart to another._

_**-Me**_

_Planes.. planes.. planes.._ Juliet Burke hated planes. She hated Sydney, Australia. She hated Edmund Burke. She hated him and his miracle drug that was _her_ miracle drug. But she would never voice that opinion to anyone as she sat beside him on the plane back to LAX. Currently he was complaining all about how there were no first class tickets left, and she almost told him where he could shove those first class thoughts.

Almost, but she never did. She found herself ignoring him as she usually did these days, looking around at the other passengers that were in their seats as they flew. She was slightly enraptured by the rugged looking man who was sitting across the small aisle from her. She met his gaze for only a brief second before she felt a warning tug on her arm and she turned to look at Edmund.

"I'm over here, _dear_," he stated calmly.

James "Sawyer" Ford had caught the woman beside him looking at him and he thought _maybe_ he would have flirted had her little boyfriend not intervened. What did a bombshell like her see in such an ugly little bastard like the man beside her anyways, he wondered vaguely. He glanced down at her hand and let his eyes stick to the ring and looked away.

"Sorry," Juliet stated. "What were you saying, Ed? I was lost in thought.."

Edmund could only roll his eyes in response. "With as 'lost in thought' as you get, its amazing we can create a drug to make millions of dollars," he stated.

Juliet narrowed her eyes slightly but she said nothing.

Sawyer could only raise an eyebrow up in response. She hadn't struck him as the timid millionaire's wife from the way she had looked at him just a minute ago, but he supposed he was just being stupid. Then again, from what he could see, _she_ was the reason her husband was a millionaire. He'd been annoyed for thirty minutes listening to the man complain about not getting first class and she had seemed equally annoyed. He didn't quite know why he didn't see she was the man's wife until now.

"Honestly, Jules.." Edmund stated with a sigh. "You really should be more happy about this, I'm doing a lot of good for people."

Juliet glanced at him. The truth was that they he was indeed doing a lot of good for people, but the sad truth was that she knew Edmund didn't actually give a damn. She found herself understanding Edmund less and less the more time went on. "Of course you are.."

Edmund watched as her glance drifted in the opposite direction and he realized his mistake. "I meant we, Juliet, we're doing a lot of good for people."

"You, we, same thing," Juliet answered in reply.

"Exactly," Edmund stated.

Sawyer rolled his eyes. "Oh please.." he muttered under his breath. He was surprised to see when she threw him an amused look, but apparently her husband didn't share the sentiment. Perhaps she wasn't as easily intimidated by her husband as she seemed. For just a moment there was something in that amused look that beckoned him into familiarity, but it disappeared as quickly as the amusement on her face.

But the turbulence hit, everything started shaking and he fasted his seatbelt as was suggested by the sign. And when the unfortunate people who hadn't buckled up started flying and hitting things, he found himself daring another glance over at the woman only to find those blue eyes trained on him as well. And the dark wallow of acceptance over their fate felt vaguely familiar before everything went dark.

**~*~*~*~**

_Screams.. screams.. screams._ They haunted her mind as she opened her eyes and found herself staring up at the man who had been sitting right across from her. The bafflement must have been clear on her face because he started talking pretty quickly.

"Plane crashed," Sawyer told her quickly. "Whole damn thing tore apart mid-freakin'-flight."

Juliet took his offered hand as he pulled her up to her feet. She dared to glance around at everyone who was screaming and yelling and she nearly keeled over again at the realization that this man wasn't screwing with her. She felt light-headed, dizzy, and vaguely nauseous but she sucked it up. Clearly there were people who were dead or in worse condition then her minor issues.

"You alright?" Sawyer questioned, glancing her over for a moment. She looked alright.

"Yes," she answered, glancing back at the man. "Sorry.." she muttered, glancing down. "I just, I hate planes."

Sawyer glanced around at the burning wreckage. "Huh.. couldn't imagine why."

Juliet released a chuckle before she could help herself.

"There's a doctor runnin' round and tryin' to help people," Sawyer stated with a shrug. "Don't know how much one guy can really do."

Juliet studied him with curiosity. There was no chance in hell this guy was talking about Edmund. Edmund didn't know how to help anyone else but himself. He'd be off somewhere trying to help himself, likely not even wondering about his wife. "Where is he? I can help.."

Sawyer arched an eyebrow in response.

"I'm a doctor.." Juliet explained at his look of curiosity.

Sawyer shrugged. "His names Jack," he stated. "He's over there," he told her, pointing over to a the man trying to resuscitate an African American woman.

Juliet nodded slightly. She turned to head towards the doctor but she stopped and glanced back at the man behind her. "I'm sorry.. thank you.. um.."

Sawyer thought about it for a moment. "James, call me Sawyer." Why the hell had he just done that? He never did that.

Juliet narrowed her eyes for a moment. "Well.. thank you-- James, I don't think Sawyer suites you.." she told him. "I'm Juliet."

Sawyer arched an eyebrow for a second time as she walked away from him. She had no idea what she was talking about. Sawyer suited him perfectly.

Jack Shepard glanced up at the blonde woman who came over after he got the woman Rose breathing again and back up.

"I'm sorry, um.. you're Jack?" she questioned.

Jack nodded. "Yes, are you alright?"

Juliet nodded. "Yes, I'm Juliet.. I'm a doctor, I was hoping to help."

Jack was only vaguely surprised. She seemed a little too timid for a doctor.

"Well, more like a researcher.." she corrected. "I'm a fertility doctor.. but, I still know more then the basics."

Jack smiled and nodded. "Nice to meet you," he stated, holding out a hand to shake. When she shook it he nodded his head to all the people around him. "There's a lot of dead.. a lot of injured, the dead we can take care of later, the minor injuries should be fine for now, let's try and get to people with the rougher injuries."

"Of course.." Juliet agreed.

Jack thought about it for a moment. "Wait, you said a fertility doctor?"

Juliet nodded. "Yes, that's right.."

"There's a woman, right over there," he stated, pointing over to a large man and a very pregnant blonde woman. "Her name is Claire, due in about a month give or take a few days.. think you could check her out?"

Juliet smiled. Right up her alley. "Not a problem, I'll stick with her, let me know if there's anything else I can do."

"Will do," Jack assured her, standing up and walking away.

Juliet was slightly relieved to be given a task. Edmund would have sat her in a corner and told her to observe so she didn't screw anything up. She'd once heard him on the phone with a colleague chatting about how women were only good at three things, and all three involved staying at home. She knew what he meant. Cooking, cleaning and sex. He was an asshole. And she was too attached to her ethics to get divorced and admit defeat like her parents.

She made her way over to the woman Claire and the larger man. "Hi there, you must be Claire," she said with a small smile. "I'm Juliet."

Claire stared at her with uncertainty. "I don't.. need two babysitters.." she stated in-between deep breaths.

Juliet chuckled. "Not why I'm here," she assured her. "I'm a fertility doctor, baby doctor to put it simply.." she explained. "I just wanted to check you out."

Claire nodded slightly. "Okay.." she agreed.

Sawyer took a seat on a piece of debris and watched the blonde from a distance. She clearly tried to hide it, which she did well, but beneath the demeaning clothes that showed no curves, he could still _see_ the curves. Why would any woman try to hide how attractive they were? Probably because their jackass husbands made them. Then again.. that didn't seem to be an issue.

He watched Juliet's husband sit off to the side with no care of the world about his wife or other people. If she was a doctor and she worked under him, clearly he was a doctor as well. Yet he sat there watching rather then doing anything.

"Not much of a people person?"

Sawyer glanced over at the Asian man who sat down beside him. "Nope," he answered. "Figured I had that vibe just _glowin'_ off me. Guess not enough, seein' as you decided to come chit-chat anyways."

He chuckled. "I'm Miles."

"Sawyer."

"That blonde chick keeps eyeballin' you," Miles pointed out.

Sawyer smirked now, noticing that Miles was right. Juliet kept glancing over at him.

"So does her hubby," he stated, jerking his thumb in another direction.

Sawyer glanced over at 'Ed' and laughed.

"How's an ugly bastard like that get a wife like _that_?" Miles questioned with curiosity. "Could be money, but she doesn't look like a trophy wife. Couldn't be love. He doesn't seem to give a damn about anyone.."

Sawyer chuckled. "People are prolly' sayin' the same shit about us."

"Probably," Miles agreed. "But at least we're 'chit-chattin' and at least you helped the blonde."

Sawyer blinked, as though he only just realized that the other guy, Miles, was right. "Huh.." he muttered. "Imagine that." For whatever reason, he couldn't find it in him to dislike the guy next to him, in fact, he kind of enjoyed his company. Plane crashes did pretty odd freakin' things to people.

Both men glanced up at the sudden turmoil and screams as Juliet and the larger man, that they didn't know the name of, ran with the pregnant woman. The wing of the plane was falling and just missed crushing the three of them.

"Holy shit," Miles muttered.

"No kiddin'," Sawyer responded. Now he narrowed his eyes slightly as 'hubby' went stalking towards the three.

"He doesn't look happy."

"Nope.." Sawyer replied, watching carefully.

Juliet was helping Claire and Hurley sit up and she felt a hand grasp her wrist tightly and pull her up to her feet. "What are yuh--"

"Are you trying to kill people, Julie?" Edmund questioned, tightening his grip on her wrist. "Go back to useless instead of being a death sentence, you work in a lab, go sit over there and don't talk to anyone," he ordered her, pointing over to an area clear of people.

Juliet was silent for a minute as she locked eyes with him. "But I--"

"Don't fight about this, just do what I said," Edmund stated, giving her a brief shove.

"I thought she was a doctor," Claire stated, watching Juliet walk away.

"She is," Edmund told her. "But 'doctor' is just a label my dear, she's entirely useless in the medical field. Don't worry, I'll look you over."

Sawyer arched an eyebrow up at Edmund's words. He watched Juliet flinch slightly at the words but he got the feeling she heard that kind of crap a lot from her husband. He also noticed her self-consciously rubbing her wrist. He'd punch the guy out if he thought it would knock any sense into the useless bastard. He noticed now a few people, including Jack the doctor had also caught the scene, but they quickly went back to whatever they were doing.

Juliet sat silently by herself as she watched Edmund check over Claire just as she had done. She could only vaguely remember what it was about Edmund Burke that had gotten her to fall in love with him. She supposed it was because _before_ the money, _before_ the power, he'd actually cared? Or maybe she just thought he did.

She had married him at the age of 26, and just a month ago they'd hit their tenth year of marriage. She'd spent the anniversary alone. He'd spent it with his newest secretary. She didn't deny _knowing_ about all of his little voyages, she was simply used to it. Years one, two and three he'd been all about her.

Year four he'd be decent, but distant.

Year five he got promoted.

Year six he started working late.

Year seven he sometimes worked over-night.

Year eight he went on weekend business trips.

Year nine he went on week-long business trips every month.

This year he had the balls to occasionally ask her if he could have the house to himself for a night. About once or twice a month. She gave up questioning him, and would simply go stay with Rachel those nights. For the week before the trip to Australia she hadn't gone back home. She'd been planning to leave him, the papers lay signed by her in Rachel's apartment.

He'd blackmailed her into the trip after finding out about her unsanctioned fertility treatments on Rachel. The deal was that she had to go present _her_ fertility drug as _his_ fertility drug, she hadn't realized he was obviously paying attention, because he showed Rachel as their test subject. It was her drug. Her pregnant sister. And he got all the glory for something she hadn't wanted publicized.

God must have hated her. Because why else would he have let her marry such a narcissistic bastard, take away all of her success and give it to him, crash her plane and take away the possibility of ever seeing her sister again, and of ever meeting her unborn niece or nephew? The answer seemed pretty clear to her.

Someone up there behind those big god-damned pearly-gates wanted to watch her suffer. Obviously they found it amusing, because if she never got off this island, that meant she'd be stuck in this loveless, hateful marriage for the rest of her life. And on a deserted island? It was probably going to be a life soon ended.

**()()TBC()()**

**Yes. The multi-tasking begins! Fortunately, the more I chatted with people about wanting to do this story, the more I wanted to get it up and rolling. So here it is!**


	2. Undeserved Loyalty

**Author's Note**: Truthfully, all I can really say is, wow.. I really didn't expect the outcome of this story to be so.. uh.. well-liked. This quick update is thanks to you reviewers! Honestly, lots of reviews get me all happy and excited and get my creative juices flowing a lot faster. So you guys only have yourselves to thank for the fact I got chapter two up in 24 hours!

Annnyways. This chapter goes to **D.D. Casale**, because she was dealing with my insane, sleep-deprived rambling for HOURS.

**Fate's a Fickle Foe**:

"Where you going?" Miles questioned, arching an eyebrow up as he watched Sawyer stand up and start walking away.

Sawyer smirked and glanced back at him. "Look, much as I appreciate the interest boy, _she_ is much more attractive," he stated, jerking a thumb over towards Juliet who was sitting by herself on her husband's orders.

Miles let out a snicker. "Good thing that old man is scrawny, otherwise he'd probably try to stop you, but in this case.." he stated, glancing over at Juliet's husband. "I'd say you have a pretty good advantage."

Sawyer laughed before walking away. Yeah, he could grow to like Miles, the guy was as sarcastic as he was. He wandered over to Juliet and glanced down at her. "Seat next to you taken?" he questioned.

Juliet glanced up at him and shrugged. "What do you think?" she asked in return.

Sawyer chuckled and took a seat behind her before taking out a pack of cigarettes. "You smoke?"

"No," she replied.

"Wanna start?" he asked next.

Juliet glanced over at the offered pack and snorted out a laugh in response. "You think he stresses me out enough to start smoking _now_?" she asked, unable to help the smile.

"Take a walk on the wild side, shortcake," he told her, pulling one out for himself. He watched as she studied the pack cryptically for a moment before she pulled one out as well. He lit his own and then hers, and he couldn't help but blow out smoke as he laughed, watching her face contort.

"Oh god," she muttered, sputtering out a cough. "That's horrible, why would anyone do that?!" she questioned, holding the cigarette out between her thumb and pointer finger as though it were a snake ready to bite her.

Sawyer nearly choked he laughed so hard at her words. What made him laugh even harder was the fact she attempted another puff just to make sure it wasn't just the she didn't like the first one. When her face contorted again, he managed not to continue laughing _as_ hard as he had been. "Ya' know, when I offered, I didn't expect you'd actually take one."

Juliet chuckled slightly in response as she put the cigarette out in the sand. "Yeah well, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger right?" she questioned with a small smile.

"You talkin' bout the smokes or old yeller over there?" he questioned, nodding his head over towards Edmund.

Juliet snorted out a laugh in response to the nickname.

Sawyer just grinned. "Honestly, I don't know why someone like you would be with.. well.. him."

Juliet arched an eyebrow up at him in response. "Somebody like me?" she asked with uncertainty. "I don't even know what that means."

Sawyer stared at her, trying to validate the truth of her statement. After a moment he realized that she really _didn't_ understand what he meant. "Wow," he muttered. "You really don't, do ya'?" he questioned.

Juliet narrowed her eyes slightly. "I said that, didn't I?"

"It's just that.. you look like, ehh.. just.. you don't look like--" he wasn't entirely sure why he was even bothering. He didn't say the right things. He already knew that. He couldn't even get out the statement that someone who looks as good as her, he didn't know why she'd be with such an ugly, scrawny little titan like her husband.

Sure, it was easy to flatter someone and come up with the right words when he was after their money, when he didn't give two shits either way about them. But there was something different about her. He just wasn't able to put his finger on _what_ that difference was just yet. He was determined to figure it out though.

"Oh.." Juliet replied, glancing away.

Sawyer opened his mouth to speak when he realized she looked upset.

"You're wondering what he could see in me," she finished for him. "Look, I know I'm not as attractive as most women, but--"

"We all know that, dear."

Juliet paused, glancing up at Edmund. She was silent now as she glanced away from both men.

Edmund shook his head and smiled. He squatted down in front of her and placed his hands on either side of her face, forcing her to look at him and he gave her a look of sympathy. "That's why you're with me, Julez, because I can get past those flaws."

Sawyer narrowed his eyes slightly. His first thought when he'd seen the two as a couple, he figured she was just like all of his other targets. She simply didn't get enough attention and she'd probably take it from anyone who gave it to her. He couldn't have been more wrong. The blonde beside him wasn't craving attention from her husband, she _loathed_ whatever attention she did get from him. And he couldn't blame her. The man put her down to get her to stay with him, she actually thought she wasn't attractive.

"You wouldn't have to learn these facts from somebody else if you'd just listen to me," Edmund told her, placing a kiss on her forehead. "I did tell you not to talk to anybody."

Juliet nodded slightly in response.

Sawyer arched an eyebrow up instantly. How the hell did the man act like he was being sympathetic to the fact he made his wife think she was unattractive? Perhaps Juliet really was as timid as he'd originally thought she was. "She can do what she wants," he stated, staring daggers into the little bastard.

Juliet smiled sadly over at Sawyer as Edmund released her face from his hands. "It's fine-- Sawyer -- he's right," she stated as Edmund pulled her to her feet.

Sawyer eyed the red marks on her face from where Edmund's hands had been. What the hell was wrong with the guy? He'd hurt her, the only thing that surprised him was the fact she hadn't flinched from it. He hadn't seen anything but sorrow cross her face. Now he was trying to figure out why the fact she'd called him Sawyer this time rather then James bothered him, but he couldn't seem to put a finger on it. Before he could think of a response, Edmund had her walking away in a different direction.

"Stay away from my wife," Edmund warned him.

"How can ya' sit there and make her believe she ain't attractive?" he questioned, unable to help himself.

Edmund smirked now. "It certainly keeps her in line, besides, I've seen better," he assured him. "You're telling me you've never put a woman down before?"

Sawyer narrowed his eyes slightly. "Actually, no I haven't," he stated. Used them, yes, but at least he didn't emotionally abuse them. "And I never put my hands on them either."

Edmund just smiled. "Wanna know what true love is, cowboy?" he questioned. "True love is that blonde bombshell over there," he stated, pointing to Juliet. "A pretty little wife who doesn't say squat about anything you do, even when you don't come home for a weekend, week, or even on your ten-year anniversary, regardless of the fact she knows you're with someone else."

Sawyer remained silent now. He studied the man's joyful face as he stood up before grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. "Oh yeah?" he questioned. At Edmund's smile and nod he just shook his head and dropped him back down to his feet. "You ain't even worth my time, you deserve to be hit by a bus, jackass."

Edmund watched him walk away and then he quickly went over to Juliet. "C'mon," he growled out, coiling his fingers around Juliet's wrist and pulling her along with him

"Where?" she questioned, ignoring the excessive tightness of his fingers.

Edmund didn't bother to look back at her. "The jungle, get some privacy."

"Are you out of your mind?" Juliet asked him, attempting to pull her wrist from his grasp. "I'm not going into the jungle, you don't even know what could be out there!"

Edmund paused and turned, glaring at her. He was Edmund freakin' Burke. People did _not_ sit here and go against him like this, especially not Juliet. _He_ had all the money, all the power. "You're my wife, are you not?"

Juliet opened her mouth but closed it a moment later without responding.

"Let's go."

"No," Juliet stated, resisting once more as he started to drag her towards the jungle again. "I told you, I'm not going out there."

"Why? Are you afraid a big bad polar bear will come out and eat you?" he questioned.

Silence.

Edmund nodded. "Now lets go."

Juliet glanced back at Sawyer for a moment who was looking everywhere but at her. It took her a second to realize everyone else was watching to see what she was going to do as well. What were her choices at this point? She could go with her instincts and _not_ go into the jungle, or she could go with him. Everyone already thought she was useless, she'd probably be even more of an outcast if they realized she also didn't go along with her husband.

"Fine.." she agreed quietly, allowing him to pull her into the jungle.

"Man.. what a douche," Miles muttered as Sawyer took a seat next to him.

Sawyer didn't bother to reply. He couldn't fight the strange sense he should have done something to help Juliet. He didn't know _why_ the timid blonde had such an effect on him, he'd never cared about anyone else but himself. Go figure, locking eyes with a blue-eyed bombshell on a plane and a plane crash later and suddenly he found himself caring about someone. Damned disasters effected people in strange ways.

Once they got rescued hopefully all this would go away. For now he was just going to do his very best at ignoring the strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was _definitely_ going to avoid Juliet.

_A few hours later..._

Sawyer had kept to himself after Edmund and Juliet had wandered into the jungle. He couldn't be sure how long they'd been gone, but it was dark out. About fifteen minutes ago everyone had been eerily silent as noises came from the jungle and the trees had moved around like there were large beasts tearing past them. He still heard people talking about it, but the thoughts had also shifted to Juliet as well.

"I feel bad for her.." Claire said in a hushed voice to the man Charlie who was sitting beside her. "That guy, I guess her husband, he's a pig.." she stated. "And she's out there in that jungle somewhere because he made her go out there."

"You think they're okay?" Charlie questioned, glancing nervously into the jungle.

"I don't know," Claire admitted. "He deserves whatever happens to him, he was such a jerk to her," she concluded. "But she was really sweet, I hope she's alright."

Charlie nodded in agreement.

*~*~*

"Don't you think maybe we should go look for them?"

Jack shot a curious look to the brunette, Kate. "It's dark and there's something out there, something big," he replied. "None of us should be risking our lives when rescue could come any time."

Kate was silent in response.

"Hey," Sayid stated. "Isn't that the man who went out there?"

Jack glanced over at where Sayid was pointing and noticed he was right. Juliet's husband was sneaking his way back into camp. Juliet was nowhere to be seen. "Yeah that's him."

"Where is his wife?" Sayid questioned.

Jack shook his head. "I don't know, I don't see her."

Sayid frowned now. Who left their wife in the jungle and came back alone? He quickly walked towards the man, catching everyone's attention. "You, what's your name?"

Edmund glanced up.

"Yes, you."

Edmund narrowed his eyes but he didn't bother to answer the guy. He didn't answer to anybody. Edmund Burke was in charge, he was a leader not a follower, a speaker not a listener. He gave orders, and he most definitely didn't take them. "Screw off."

Sayid arched an eyebrow before shoving the man. "Fine, I do not care what your name is, _where_ is your wife?"

"What?" Edmund questioned.

Sawyer was heading there now as well before grabbing the guy by the collar of his shirt once more, just as he had done to the man earlier. "Where the hell is Juliet?" he questioned.

"I don't know," Edmund answered with a shrug. "Some weird thing out there was making noises and the trees were moving around, I turned around, she was gone." Why was he answering them? And most of all, why the hell did they even care about where Juliet was. "She's dead for all I know."

Sawyer threw the man down and climbed on top of him, his fingers coiling around the man's neck. "Listen you sonuvabitch, don't you even listen to yourself when you speak?" he questioned. "That ain't some random person out there, she's your damned wife."

"She's replaceable," Edmund stated.

Sayid had been about to pull Sawyer off the man but he stopped himself at his recent statement. He glanced up along with everyone else when they heard footsteps and he was surprised to see the man's wife coming out of the jungle now as well. She'd clearly heard his statement because she'd stopped dead in her tracks.

Sawyer finally released his hold on Edmund and stood once he saw Juliet come out of the woods. He couldn't even begin to explain the relief he felt inside at seeing her. There was absolutely no reason in the world for him to care so much about someone he only knew the name of. Well, her name and the obvious state of her marriage.

But the look of shame, of sorrow and obvious pain on her face seemed even more familiar to him. He couldn't place it. He _must_ know this damned woman from somewhere. There was no other reason for why he cared about her well-being. He glanced down when he noticed Edmund stand up and go over to the grief-stricken blonde. '_Fat chance buck-o, now way in hell she'll deal with you after hearing what you said,_' he thought to himself.

Everyone else's faces proved they were thinking the exact same thing. And all of their faces turned shocked as Edmund simply grabbed her arm forcefully and pulled her away from the rest of the group. She hadn't made one single attempt to stop him from dragging her along. She voiced no opinion, and had no objections.

Sawyer tried to determine how much it took to break someone like that.

**()()TBC()()**

**Was this a fast enough update? Never fear, hopefully another one tomorrow night. But not before I update my other story! With any luck, both chapters will have another update before the end of the night tomorrow! Or today, whatever you consider it. It's 4am. I guess that means today. Same difference!**

**Hope I'm keeping you guys interested. If there's some idea you want to see, throw it out there to me! (And yes, I am taking in all the accounts of 'kill Edmund' LOL. I don't need more of those suggestions!)**

**But if you want to see a flashback, let me know. Tell ME what you want to see! I'll do my best to incorporate your ideas into the story!**


	3. Unhappily Everafter

**Author's Note**: You guys are all so wonderful with the reviews. I know I was planning on updating All Over Again first, but.. you guys pretty much melded thoughts into my brain for the next chapter of **FFF**, so that's what you're getting instead! Never fear, this time **AoA**, really is going to be the next update.

Here's the general consensus on the flashbacks that will start appearing.

How did Edmund finally get Juliet to be so submissive.

How did their relationship go from happy to unhappy after year three of their marriage onward.

If you have other flashbacks you want to see, let me know. :)

**Fate's a Fickle Foe**:

_You don't know how hard it is to be,_

_A woman in love with you when you're so cruel._

_**-Sinead O'Connor**_

Sawyer was currently seated with three other people. He wasn't entirely sure _how_ or _why_ he was making friends, but for whatever reason, it seemed relatively easy with these people. He figured perhaps it was just because they were four people who'd crashed together on a plane, but there had to be a deeper meaning then that, right? Maybe not.

He glanced at his current company and there was only one thing that struck him as odd. It was how diverse they all were. There was Hugo, or Hurley as they called him, definitely over the average weight limit, but hell the guy was upbeat, regardless he liked him. Then there was Miles, the sarcastic snippy little Asian man who was actually much like himself. And of course, there was Charlie. The short little British guy, but what the hell, the guy was pretty funny.

"Oh come on, you're not gonna tell me you're just big-boned right?" Miles questioned, arching an eyebrow up at Hurley.

Sawyer and Charlie both chuckled in response.

"No way, dude," Hurley stated. "I like to eat, got a problem with that?"

"What are ya', some kinda hippie-has-been?" Sawyer asked next. "You say dude like it's goin' outta style, Cartman."

Hurley blinked. "Cartman?"

Miles let out a laugh now. "Hey, _dude_, he's calling you Cartman, the little fat ass from South Park."

"Harsh, dude.." Hurley stated, mocking a hurtful look.

"Oh yeah?" Charlie stated, shooting a daring look over at Sawyer. "Hit me with a nickname. Seems to be your thing."

Sawyer grinned now. "Oh yer' just making this too easy for me shortstack," he assured him.

"That the best you could come up with?" Charlie questioned.

Miles grinned and Hurley let out a laugh.

"Let's see, I could call ya' the keebler elf," he stated. "How about Santa's little helper?" he asked next.

Charlie let out a laugh now. "Oh bullocks, this is good," he stated. "Nice to know we got ourselves a comedian."

"Hey, if I'm Cartman, which of the South Park characters does that make you three?" he questioned.

Miles chuckled in response to this one.

Sawyer smirked. "No way in hell am I gonna be Kenny, I ain't dyin'," he stated. "Strawberry shortcake here can be Kenny," he stated, jerking his thumb over to Charlie. "He likes wearin' his hood up anyhow."

Sawyer pondered the thought now. "Guess I'd be Stan and this tard-o here would be Kyle."

Miles rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks."

Hurley glanced around. "Hey, like.. where'd Juliet's creepy husband go?"

Sawyer took the chance to glance around as well and noticed Hurley was right. Juliet was sitting off by herself near the ocean and her scrawny pitiful excuse for a husband was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, this means you gotta chance to go work some magic," Charlie suggested, waggling his eyebrows.

"Dunno what yer' talking about," Sawyer replied with a shrug.

Miles smirked now. "Yeah, _right_," he stated with a designated eye roll to go along with it. "You've barely been able to keep your eyes off her," he pointed out. "Troubled women a turn-on for you?"

Sawyer managed to skip rolling his eyes right back at Miles. "Well, guess if I'm _that_ damned predictable I might as well go talk to the princess, dontcha' think?" Without waiting for an answer he stood and wandered towards her.

Juliet glanced to the side when she noticed someone sit down beside her. She arched an eyebrow up curiously when she noticed that it was Sawyer, but she didn't say anything to him.

"Where'd the scarecrow disappear to?" he questioned.

Juliet smiled a little at the question. "Said he had to.. 'take a leak', his exact words," she replied nonchalantly. "What do you want, James?"

Sawyer raised both eyebrows up inquisitively. "You're a hard woman to figure out," he pointed out. "I'm guessin' when you're not _too_ angry, you'll call me James, but when you're slightly pissed off, you're gonna call me Sawyer?" he questioned. "Seriously sweetheart, yer' gonna give me identity crisis."

Juliet chuckled now, unable to hold it back. "Again I ask, what do you want?"

"To chat," Sawyer answered. "Got a question for ya'."

"Alright," Juliet replied. "Ask away."

Sawyer was surprised she agreed so easily. "Alrighty, riddle me this Batgirl," he stated. "What the hell did that scrawny little bastard do that could make you so timid and submissive?"

Juliet was silent in response. A question no one had ever really asked her before, not even Rachel. Rachel only questioned why she stayed, this man asked the big question and he'd known her a little less then twenty-four hours. It seemed slightly ironic.

**...Flashback(6 years ago)...**

_For the past year Juliet had been ignoring the fact that her husband had become increasingly distant from her. She chalked it up to the fact he'd just gotten his big promotion, he needed time to get on track with it. Pretty soon he'd remember he wasn't just her boss now, but he was still her husband, wouldn't he?_

_She let out a sigh as she sat behind her desk and finally she stood to her feet. She was tired of this, the waiting. It had been a year. Sure, they didn't fight, but they barely talked about anything important anymore. She needed to know that they were still in this together, that they were still.. something. So she made her way up to his office and she was just about to open the door when it opened by itself._

_Juliet wasn't quite sure what to feel when she saw the fair-skinned, brown-eyed, early twenties brunette exit her husband's office while adjusting her skirt. She locked eyes with the younger woman and watched as she smiled and simply walked passed her, leaving. She didn't hesitate to enter the office now. "Who was that?" she questioned._

_Edmund looked up with more then a little surprise showing on his features. "Juliet, you know you really should knock--"_

_She narrowed her eyes slightly in response. "I'm your wife, when did I have to start knocking?"_

"_At home," Edmund pointed out. "At work I'm your boss, I need you to treat me as such."_

_Juliet was silent for a moment in response to his statement. "I see.."_

_Edmund sighed slightly. "Close the door, take a seat.." he told her. He watched as she did so and he walked to the other side of his desk, taking a seat on top of it directly in front of her. "What's bothering you?"_

"_Who was she?" she questioned once more._

"_The new research assistant I've just hired," Edmund replied, arching an eyebrow up at her. "Why, is something wrong with her?_

_Juliet frowned for a moment, her eyes trailing and looking him over. He didn't seem at all disheveled. At least not until she got lower. She noticed part of his shirt wasn't tucked into his pants and also that his zipper was down. There was no getting the wrong idea here. The brunette had walked out adjusting herself, obviously her husband hadn't quite finished. "You two.. researched together I see.."_

"_I have no idea what you mean--"_

"_Don't, Ed.." Juliet stated, standing up. "Maybe you should tuck your shirt in," she suggested. "And your fly is down.."_

_Edmund glanced down and did as she said. When he glanced up he noticed she was walking towards the door. "Where do you think you're going?" he questioned, quickly walking up behind her._

"_I'm going home," she told him, her hand on the door handle. "Clearly I need to pack my things."_

_Edmund quickly put his hand on the door and pushed it back closed on her. "Don't walk out of here on me," he told her, watching as she turned to look at him. "You're not leaving me."_

"_Oh, I'm not?" she questioned, arching and eyebrow up and crossing her arms over her chest. "Because I'm fairly certain that's what I was going home to do."_

"_Don't talk back to me, Jules," he stated, placing his hand on the side of her cheek._

_Juliet smacked his hand away. "I can't believe you, you're not even _denying_ my accusation."_

"_I've never lied before, why would I start now?" Edmund questioned, smiling softly at her._

_Juliet shook her head, unable to help the look of disbelief. "Move your damned hand off the door, I'm leaving."_

"_No you're not," Edmund assured her._

"_Yes," Juliet retorted. "I am."_

_Before she even registered him moving she heard the resounding noise of the slap and felt the sting on her cheek. Before she could stop herself, her hand was already on the side of her face in shock and she didn't dare look Edmund in the eye._

"_I suggest getting back to work now," Edmund told her. He opened the door and ushered her out. "I have work to do, we'll discuss this at home later."_

**...End Flashback...**

"Hey, you told me to ask away," Sawyer pointed out to her. "You gonna answer?"

Juliet smirked, though there was clearly no humor in her eyes. "Well, I said you could ask," she told him. "I never told you that I would actually answer the question."

Sawyer was surprised once again. "Shew," he stated. "You are just full of surprises," he replied with a grin. "C'mon, you're a beautiful woman, he's anugly little bastard, what the hell do you see in him?" he asked her. "What makes you stay with a douchebag like that?"

Juliet was silent once more.

Sawyer stared at the look that crossed her face. It was shock. It took him only another moment to realize that she thought of herself as unattractive, also thanks to her little husband. He watched as her blue eyes finally met his and he was surprised at the intense look in them, not at all the holding the same timidness he'd seen before.

"Look," she said with a sigh. "If you want someone to open up about themselves, you can't just go blurting out what you want to know," she told him. "Information is a two-way street, James," she pointed out. "Sometimes you need to give a little bit of yourself to find out about others."

Sawyer was a little surprised at her words.

Juliet smiled sadly and looked out towards the ocean. "Besides, it seems like you already know some things about me, so how would it be fair for me to tell you even more when the only thing I know about you is your name and nickname?"

Sawyer chuckled now. She was pretty witty, he'd have to give her that much. Timid, check. Emotionally broken, check. Witty, check. He glanced her over and froze now, glancing at the cut on her cheek. That hadn't been there yesterday, he'd noticed everything about her appearance yesterday. He reached his hand out without a second thought to touch it, but he pulled it back instantly when she flinched away. "Did he hit you?" he questioned quickly.

"What?" Juliet asked out of surprise. "No," she answered quickly. "No, he didn't," she exclaimed. "It happened last night when I was in the jungle."

Somehow Sawyer wasn't sure he believed her. "Why are you lying?" he questioned immediately.

"I'm not," she assured him. Her eyes flicked behind him for a moment before they rested back on him.

"Look, if he--"

"Why do you insist on bothering my wife?" came a voice behind him.

Sawyer glanced behind him and stared at Edmund. Was that why she insisted that her husband hadn't hit her? Because she'd seen him coming? He glanced back at Juliet and there was a sudden feeling of familiarity once more. For a moment he saw tear-filled blue eyes that refused to cry, hands cuffed to a chair, a bleeding lip, a look of sorrow on the blonde before him.

He shook his head and her appearance was back to normal, blonde locks wavy rather then straight, blue eyes tear-free, a cut on her cheek not her lip, but deep-down that same imperceptible look of sorrow was hiding. What the hell had that been about? He stood without a word and walked away.

Juliet tilted her head to the side slightly and watched him walk away. She couldn't hide the confusion that crossed her face. The look he'd given her for that brief moment before he got up was almost.. familiar. Almost but she couldn't quite place it.

"You trying to be me, Jules?" Edmund asked her with a smirk, grabbing her forearm and pulling her to her feet. "It'll never work, _dear,_" he pointed out. "No man wants you, after all, you're damaged goods."

Juliet was silent now, looking down at her feet rather then at Edmund.

"Don't worry," he told her. "That's why I'll stay with you," he assured her. "You're _my_ damaged goods, besides, it would take far too much time to get another woman as housebroken as you."

Juliet opened her mouth to speak but thought better of it and quickly pursed her lips shut again.

"Good girl," Edmund stated, giving her a quick peck on the lips.

Juliet finally dared to glance up as he let go of her arm and walked away from her, leaving her alone once again. What she wouldn't give to stand up to him here and now, but she knew already that she would regret the decision. She balled her fists up, digging her nails into the palm of her hand. He had to be right, she was damaged goods, there was no other way to explain her.

Otherwise she would have left him six years ago. Instead here she was, plane-crashed onto an island because for six years she'd been too much of a wimp to leave him, she'd been to much of a wuss to give in and admit her parents had the right idea about people not being meant to be together.

Maybe she _was_ meant to be with him. She did love him, didn't she? She dared to glance over at Sawyer who'd apparently watched the exchange between Edmund and herself. He'd called her beautiful, hadn't he? She released a sigh and sat back down in the sand, tearing her eyes away from Sawyer and back to the ocean. He was just being nice, there was no other logical explanation. She wasn't beautiful, far from it, if she was, then Edmund wouldn't have all of his affairs.

**()()TBC()()**

**So. Do you guys now hate Edmund even more?! Hmm? Well, do ya'?? Thought so. Anyways. Be sure to let me know if you liked the first flashback. Not exactly a _happy_ flashback, but it certainly puts a few things into perspective a bit. As to when she first found out about the affairs he was having.**

**Well, make sure you guys let me know if there are any flashbacks you'd like to see!**

**I'm thinking perhaps a a flashback to an airport scene? Let me know what you think.**


	4. Backbone

**Author's Note**: You guys rock my proverbial socks. I know, isn't that an awesome sentence? Hopefully this chapter will at least give you a little happiness! If anything, the length will probably make all those people thrilled who like those really long chapters.

I apologize for any errors. I'm not sleeping again, I'm such an insomniac. I'm all strung out on caffeine. I did try _really_ hard to fix any mistakes, but I may have missed some.

This one is for **CarolynneRuth**!

**Fate's a Fickle Foe**:

_And it's like one step forward and then two steps back,_

_And now I'm starting to see, maybe we're not meant to be._

_**-Theory of a Deadman**_

Since Jack had revived her on the beach the day before, Rose had been sitting and watching the ocean. But she couldn't stop watching the horrifying marriage between the blonde woman and her husband. She knew her name was Juliet, she remembered her talking to Jack when she'd first woken up. She let out a sigh and finally stood, heading towards the younger woman and taking a seat beside her. "Do you mind if I tell you something?"

Juliet glanced over out of surprise and raised both eyebrows in response to the woman beside her. "Not at all," she assured her. "Please, go ahead."

Rose smiled slightly. The young woman was clearly too nice to deny the request, she could see that already. "When I was younger, I didn't believe in love," she admitted. "Love was just a way for people to get hurt in my eyes," she stated. "But.. not that long ago I realized that, maybe love isn't such a bad thing."

Juliet studied the older woman carefully. She didn't interrupt though, merely listened.

"When two people are meant to be together, I think they realize it fairly quickly," Rose explained to her. "Whether its something small they can't explain, something big, like love at first sight," she told her. "Do you feel that with your husband?"

Juliet opened her mouth to answer but she quickly closed it without answering. "I'm sorry.. I don't see how that's appropriate.."

Rose shook her head. "It was just a question, sweetie.." she assured her. "You can sit here and pretend that love is all you need, and not just his love in return," she stated. "But I hate to be the one to break the news to you, what that man does to you, that's not love."

Juliet was silent for a moment as she took in the words. She took a deep breath and released it in a sigh before glancing back out at the water. "I know that," she admitted, bringing her knees up to her chest.

"Are you sure?" Rose questioned. "How long have you been together?"

Juliet glanced back over at her. "Twelve years."

"And married?"

"Ten.." Juliet answered automatically.

Rose nodded slightly. "And how many of those years have you spent most nights alone?"

Juliet couldn't even dare to look offended by the accusation the woman had against Edmund. It was pretty obvious to everyone their marriage was down the drain, obvious to anyone it had been that way for quite some time. She locked eyes with her for a moment before looking away.

Rose sighed. "Don't you think it's time you free yourself?"

"I can't," Juliet replied.

"Why not?" Rose questioned in response. "So that instead of him giving you a swift slap to the face at the airport you can wind up dead one of these days?"

Juliet flinched slightly at the harsh reality of the statement. She looked back up at her instantly with surprise. "How did you--"

"My husband and I saw you at the airport," Rose answered, cutting her off. She studied the embarrassment that crossed the blonde's features, not to mention the shame. It was familiar, exactly the same face she'd seen on her in the airport.

**...Flashback(Sydney Airport)...**

_Rose pulled the chain from her neck and unclasped it. She pulled her ring off her finger and carefully hung it on the chain. "Bernard, dear, take your ring off now so you don't forget, hate to see the thing get stuck on your blown up fingers for the flight."_

_Bernard chuckled and removed his ring, also placing it on the chain. "All better?" he questioned. He felt someone bump into him and he was pushed forward slightly. He glanced at the bumper and frowned as the man continued onward while on the phone._

"_I'm so sorry about my husband," Juliet apologized to the man. "He's.. well, he's very insensitive," she told him, giving him a small smile._

"_Don't make apologies for me, sweet cheeks," Edmund stated as he hung up the phone and went back for her. He quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled her with him. "For your information, no, we're not really sorry," he stated._

_Rose shook her head slightly and put her hand on Bernard's arm gently. "Ignore him, Bernard."_

"_You don't have to be so pompous about it, Ed," Juliet stated, attempting to pull her arm from his grasp._

_Edmund rolled his eyes and turned, before he realized what he'd done it was already too late. His hand had connected with her face and she was sitting on the floor staring up at him. He didn't bother glancing around to look at anyone else, he simply squatted down in front of her and leaned his face in close. "Don't go embarrassing me here, Jules," he warned her. _

_Rose watched with concern as she stood beside Bernard. She watched the look that crossed the younger woman's face. Embarrassment and shame were clouding her features and she let out a sigh._

_Bernard frowned as he glanced at Rose. "True love?" he mocked._

_Rose watched as the man pulled his wife to her feet and pointed her to a corner. She watched as the blonde simply did so without question. "Sweetie, if that's true love, our holy matrimony must be a saint."_

**...End Flashback...**

Juliet studied her for a moment before she gave a slight nod. "I remember now," she admitted. "Edmund bumped into your husband."

Rose shot her a look of general curiosity. "How'd you know he was my husband?" she questioned. "Hardly anyone ever harbors that statement when they see us together."

Juliet smiled a little. "You two love each other.." she stated. "I thought it was pretty clear. Notice how you calmed him down by placing your hand on his arm?" she questioned. "It shows trus--.." she stopped speaking for a moment and narrowed her eyes, the sudden vision of seeing herself place her hand on the man Sawyer's arm in the middle of the jungle. "Uh.. trust."

"Are you okay?" Rose questioned, watching her carefully.

Juliet frowned slightly. "Uh, yes.. yes," she stated, placing her hand to the side of her head.

Rose placed her hand on the blonde's shoulder out of worry. "No, you're not, what's wrong?" she questioned. She studied her face and noted the tinge of pink in her cheeks and on her forehead. Immediately she placed the back of her hand on her forehead. "My goodness, you're burning up."

"I'm fine," Juliet assured her. "I'm a doctor, remember?"

Rose narrowed her eyes at the other woman. "Doctor shmoctor," she muttered. "I'm getting Jack."

Juliet opened her mouth to speak but Rose was already walking away. She let out a sigh and glanced down at the ground.

"Something wrong?"

Juliet stood and glanced at Edmund as he stepped in front of her view of the ocean. "I.. no," she answered, shaking her head.

"How come you're lying?" Edmund questioned, studying her face carefully. He could already see she was burning up and he shook his head. "You've got a fever, anything else?" he asked her.

"None of your business," Juliet assured him.

Edmund arched an eyebrow up in response. "I'm trying to help you and you're going to get moody?"

Juliet rolled her eyes. "Oh, right," she stated mockingly. "I'm sure your number one goal here is my well-being, forgive me if I don't believe you."

"What's gotten into you?" Edmund asked curiously. He snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. "You're standing up for yourself, I kind of like it."

Juliet narrowed her eyes slightly at him. "You know, it would be really nice if you'd just ignore me, like you do at home."

Edmund blinked and pulled his hand back.

"What's going on?" Jack questioned, glancing between the two of them.

Edmund glanced back at him. "Nothing, we're talking, do you mind?"

Jack shot him a questioning glance but he said nothing in response.

Edmund chuckled before stepping closer to Juliet. He ignored the fact the for once she wasn't stepping away. "Have I told you lately I _love_ you?"

Juliet smiled gently at him before placing her hands on her hips. "And have I told you lately how much I don't believe you?" she retorted.

"What?" Edmund questioned, arching an eyebrow up out of surprise.

Rose grinned slightly at hearing the words.

"You don't love me," Juliet pointed out. "The only sad thing is that it took a plane crash for me to realize how ridiculous I've been by _believing_ that one day you might just magically love me again."

Edmund smirked slightly. "I don't see what difference that makes, Jules," he stated, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "We all have to figure things out the hard way, right?" he asked her. "I realized long ago I can get someone much more.. aesthetically pleasing then yourself, but I don't go around complaining, do I?"

Rose and Jack both stared at him in a stunned silence. How could a man sit there and do such affectionate gestures while saying such things to her face?

Sawyer had finally stepped up beside Jack and Rose to watch the exchange going on between them. If she was about to hand him his ass on a silver platter, he wanted to watch it. This would be better then a then watching the Lifetime channel.

"I hate you," Juliet muttered out, taking a step away from him. "I hate _you_, I hate your _family_, I hate your _ego_, I.. hate.. _you_," she stated. She studied his look of amusement carefully, he didn't seem to care at all about what she'd just said to him. Well if that was how he wanted to play it then she could play right back. "When we get home, I'm leaving."

That caused his face to change. "What?"

"I already signed the papers," Juliet assured him. "I'm leaving you when we get back to Miami."

Edmund stared at her in a stunned silence for a moment before the anger sunk in. He quickly grabbed her wrist and yanked her towards him. "You want to play hardball, Jules?" he questioned in a low voice.

Juliet winced as she felt his open hand come in contact with her cheek. Suddenly the pressure of Edmund's grasp on her wrist was gone and she heard a resounding '_splash_'. She opened her eyes and looked to the side, shocked as she saw Sawyer on top of Edmund.

"You think its nice to hit a woman, hoss?" Sawyer questioned angrily.

Jack was surprised by Sawyer's actions as well but instead of staring he went over to Juliet and glanced at her. "You alright?" he questioned, staring at the small trace of blood that dripped down from her cut that had reopened on her cheek.

Juliet nodded slightly. She watched Sawyer give Edmund a swift punch to the nose.

"Touch her again and I swear I'll kill you," Sawyer growled out so only Edmund could hear him before Sayid and Miles pulled him off.

Juliet took a deep breath, as though suddenly aware of what she'd just done, and stepped away. Her hand automatically went to her mouth and she quickly turned on her heel and ran.

"Juliet! Wait!" Jack yelled immediately.

Sawyer glanced over at the commotion and quickly followed after her as she went into the jungle. "Juliet," he called out, right behind her. "Juliet, wait a minute!"

Juliet finally stopped, turning to look at her follower. "I just.." she frowned, now deciphering the effects of what she'd just done. "I wasn't.. I never planned on telling him."

Sawyer arched both eyebrows up at her in response. "That you'd signed divorce papers?" he questioned. "Was that a lie or the truth?"

"The truth.." she admitted. "We'd been in Australia for three weeks so.. that means that I've had the papers sitting in a drawer at my sister's for about a month."

Sawyer was surprised by the statement. He hadn't expected this at all, not that he knew why he expected anything at all from her.

"Why did you do it?" she questioned.

"Do what?"

Juliet was silent for a moment. "Why did you defend me?"

Sawyer took a step forward towards her, only slightly surprised she didn't step away from him in return. "He hit you."

"Why do you care?" she questioned next.

Sawyer frowned for a moment. "You really can't see it, can ya'?" he asked in return.

Juliet stared at him in confusion. "See what?"

"Why do ya' listen to what he says about you?" Sawyer dared to ask. "He just proved he's an ugly, abusive, insensitive little sonuvabitch," he explained. "So why would you listen when he tells you that _you're_ the ugly one?"

Juliet was shocked by his question. "Because it's true.."

"No it ain't," Sawyer assured her. "Just like you don't deserve that snaky little bastard slapping you every time he feels like gettin' his rocks off on it."

Juliet chuckled. "You're crude.."

"No, I'm James," he corrected. "Didn't we already introduce ourselves?"

Juliet couldn't help the fact her lips curved upwards into a smile.

"Now lemme see," Sawyer stated, glancing at her cheek. "Yer' bleedin'."

Juliet smirked. "No, I'm Juliet," she retorted. "But I thought we already made introductions?"

Sawyer let out a laugh. "Wise-ass."

Juliet paused, her smirk disappearing at his words. There was something entirely familiar about his voice and him calling her a wise-ass.

Sawyer raised an eyebrow up at her. "You alright?"

Juliet managed to shake off the strange feeling of familiarity before meeting his eyes with her own. "Other then the fact I just ruined my life at home once we get rescued?"

Sawyer scoffed in response to her words. "If anything, I think ya' just saved yourself a world of pain."

Juliet glanced away. "Somehow, I doubt that.." she stated with a shrug. "He'll make my life a living hell for this one."

"You'll be getting divorced," Sawyer pointed out. "He won't be able to run your life anymore."

Juliet looked up at him once again, her face was skeptical. "He's my boss."

Sawyer was silent as her words sank in. "Get a new job," he told her.

Juliet chuckled. "I doubt I'll get a very good referral, what do you think?" she questioned. She wasn't entirely sure why she was finding all of this amusing, hell, she couldn't even figure out where she'd gotten the sudden braveness to stand up and tell Edmund she was divorcing him.

She knew there was something about Rose's statement of people being meant to be together, of her statement about being dead rather then getting a simple slap to the face. There was something about those things that stung her, boiled inside of her and emerged without her realizing it.

Sawyer watched as she took a seat on a log and he took a seat beside her. "So, what you said, give a little to get a little, right?"

Juliet arched an eyebrow up at him inquisitively.

"Whatcha' wanna know?" he questioned.

Juliet smiled now. "I'm not quite sure you get the sentiment, but.. thank you," she stated. "It's not really about what I want to know, it's about what information you feel you can trust with somebody else," she explained. "I get the feeling you don't entrust personal information easily, do you?"

"Do you?" Sawyer shot back.

Juliet was only vaguely surprised by the response. "No, I suppose I don't," she admitted. "But I guess I don't need to, Edmund's actions speak enough for _both_ of our personal lives."

"Not for long," Sawyer pointed out.

Juliet smiled a little more. "Also true."

There was silence between them for a few minutes and although Sawyer didn't find it all that uncomfortable; he figured eventually one of them would need to speak before it became uncomfortable. The question was, what did he truly feel comfortable telling her?

He sighed now. He might as well go with the most basic thing, the most basic thing he never really told anyone before, but what made him who he was. "When I was eight.."

Juliet glanced over with surprise. She hadn't expected him to actually tell her anything.

Sawyer pursed his lips shut for a moment, not entirely sure how to explain it. Instead he dug his hand through his pockets and pulled out an envelope. He stared at it for a short moment before he handed it to her.

"What's this?" Juliet questioned curiously.

"Open it up, read it," Sawyer stated, glancing away.

Juliet studied his face for a moment as she pulled the letter out of the envelope carefully and glanced it over. She looked up at him once more before glancing back down and unfolding the letter.

_'Dear Mr. Sawyer, you don't know who I am but I know who you are and I know what you done. You had sex with my mother and then you stole my dad's money all away.'_

Juliet paused in her reading and glanced up to study Sawyer's face. She watched as he gestured for her to continue in her reading and she glanced back down at the letter.

_'So he got angry and he killed my mother and then he killed himself, too. All I know is your name but one of these days I'm going to find you and I'm going to give you this letter so you remember what you done to me. You killed my parents, Mr. Sawyer.'_

Juliet stared at the end of it for a moment longer then necessary before she folded it back up exactly as he had it before. "Who wrote it?" she questioned, her voice quiet.

"I did."

Juliet glanced back down at the letter and carefully placed it back inside of the envelope. She was trying to determine exactly what to say to him, but she wasn't sure. "Why.. why would you call yourself Sawyer?"

Sawyer studied her carefully. He could see that she was simply trying to understand rather then judge. She wasn't simply saying she was sorry for what happened to him, he liked that about her, no pity, just curiosity and the attempted understanding. "I became just like him," he admitted.

Juliet nodded slightly. Her fingers ran over the envelope carefully before she handed it back to him. "You've carried that letter with you ever since?"

Sawyer sighed but he nodded his head. "Doubt I'll ever find the guy, but.."

"But getting rid of it would admit defeat?" she questioned.

Sawyer smiled a little. "Hit that nail on the head," he admitted. He tucked the letter back into his pocket before locking eyes with her. "Just so we got this straight, you realize I'm not really a great guy, don't you?"

Juliet smiled in return. "All things considered, James.." she began. "I don't believe there is a such thing as a great guy," she admitted to him before glancing down at the ground. She took a moment before she glanced back up and met his eyes once more. "But if there is, I'm sure you're pretty close to being one of them."

"I think maybe that husband of yours mighta' slapped away all yer' common sense," Sawyer stated with a roll of his eyes.

Juliet glanced away. She nodded slightly and took in his words. She let out a sad half-laugh in response to his words now. "Maybe you're right," she admitted with a shrug. "Maybe that's why I stayed for so long," she stated before standing up. "See you later, James.." she stated. "Thank you for defending me."

Sawyer watched in silence as she stood up and walked away. It had been for her own good, hadn't it? Somehow he only felt guilty for what he said though. He'd driven her away for the mere point that she clearly had no idea what the difference between a good and bad guy was, no one in their right mind would see him as anything close to a 'great guy', would they?

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. But it wasn't until he heard her scream that he stood and ran in the direction she'd walked off towards. It only took him less then a minute to get to where she was running back towards him. "What is it?" he questioned quickly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Juliet shook her head and buried her face in his shoulder, holding back the nausea and the need to empty the contents of her stomach at the sight she'd just seen.

"Jesus," Sawyer muttered quickly, looking over her head when he heard noises. His eyes nearly sprung from their sockets. There was a giant ass bear running towards them and obviously whatever he'd been eating wasn't very satisfying. It was coming towards them, it's bloodied mouth roaring. "C'mon, c'mon!" he yelled quickly, grabbing her hand and pulling her with him.

He glanced back at her as they ran. He already could see that she looked like she was going to be sick but he also knew there was no chance in hell they could stop for her to do so. When he glanced forward again he nearly died out of shock. "Whoa! Whoa! Stop, stop!" he growled out, halting them both just before they ran over a cliff. He glanced over the edge and saw the little lake.

Juliet found her eyes darting from the edge, to Sawyer, to the bear coming in the distance. "What do we do?" she managed to ask.

Sawyer wasn't entirely sure any ideas he was formulating were very good ones. But the ground shaking under them was good enough for him. "Think we gotta jump."

Juliet glanced over the edge.

"Can you do it?" Sawyer asked her quickly.

Juliet nodded. "Okay.."

Sawyer noted the fact her hand was squeezing his like a death grip. He glanced back and noticed the bear getting dangerously close. "No time to count to three, go!"

Juliet nodded and they both jumped at the same time, hand in hand.

**()()TBC()()**

**Much longer then all the previous chapters, hope you liked it! There'll be more soon! Promise! Maybe tonight, but if not then tomorrow morning or tomorrow night. I have work tomorrow afternoon and two classes today, so I'll be a little busy these next two days.**

**Don't forget. If there's anything you want to see then let me know! I'm willing to give it a shot at incorporating it into the story! We had some Sawyer/Juliet in this. Nothing huge, but hey, they're connecting, right?**


	5. Drawn Together

**Author's Note**: Sorry about the wait. I know I said I was getting it up earlier, but apparently I'm working on getting myself a world record for most ER trips for head trauma in one year. All of this chapter was written in a notebook while I was laying around a hospital the passed couple days. Joy to the world, my head will soon be dead. This chapter isn't as long as I would have liked, but a massive migraine makes it really hard to concentrate.

I'll throw this chapter to **Aurora1020 **for all the lovely reviews that make me smile. :)

**Fate's a Fickle Foe**:

_I can't offer you a lifeline, but I'll catch you when you fall._

_I can't guarantee the future, I can't promise much at all._

_**-S Club 8**_

Sawyer emerged from the water first and glanced around as he waded through the lake and looked for Juliet. As soon as they had hit the water their hands had been forced apart. He was just about to go under and look when she emerged several feet away and he swam over to her. "You alright?"

Juliet nodded slightly. "That.. that was a polar bear.." she sputtered out, coughing out some of the water in her mouth. "I'm not crazy, right?" she questioned.

"Not unless we're both goin' crazy," he admitted with a sigh. "C'mon, let's just get outta the water."

Juliet followed him through the water in silence. She wasn't quite sure how to digest the fact they'd nearly been run-down and eaten by a polar bear. When they finally got on dry land she sat down and took a deep breath. "There's no possible way. We're on an island.. a tropical freaking island.."

Sawyer took a seat beside her. "Well.. would ya' prefer there really be a polar bear, or would ya' prefer the thought that you're a few fries short of a happy meal?"

Juliet chuckled slightly as she glanced over at him. "Alright then, Sparky," she joked. "Which way is back to the beach?"

Sawyer glanced around and then back up at where they had jumped from. The polar bear was sitting up on the ledge staring down at them. "Unless we're gonna try and play ditch smoky the bear, not a damned clue."

Juliet nodded her head and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Are you sure that yer' alright?" Sawyer questioned, studying her carefully.

Juliet sighed in response. "A little dizzy," she admitted. "I'll be fine."

Sawyer was silent for a moment.

"So," Juliet began. "Are you really an asshole, or were you just attempting to prove your point that you're not one the those 'rare' great guys?" she finally dared to ask.

Sawyer locked eyes with her now. "What do you think?" he questioned in return, curious about what she might say.

"I think that if you were as bad as you think you are, then you wouldn't have defended me, then you wouldn't have followed me out here and I'd likely be that polar bear's next meal," she pointed out. "And.. you most definitely would not have warned me that you weren't a very good guy."

"Don't be so sure," Sawyer warned her. He wasn't entirely certain about why she found it so easy to see the good in him. Especially not when she just spent most of her marriage alone and being cheated on. "Maybe I'm just after you for your money."

Juliet smiled sadly at him and shook her head. "How is anyone supposed to trust you when you don't even trust yourself?" she asked him curiously. She waited out his silence momentarily before continuing. "Look, James.. I may not have the best judgment of people, clearly, but I believe in you. I believe you're a good person."

Sawyer stared at her in a stunned silence after what she said to him. He bit back a sarcastic comment that he was about to throw out and he frowned. "I don't think I understand you, Blondie."

Juliet smiled in response to that statement. "Can I ask you a question?"

Sawyer nodded. "Fire away," he replied.

"What's the meaning behind all of the nicknames?" she asked him curiously. "So far you've called me shortcake, sweetheart, Batgirl, wise-ass, and Blondie," she pointed out. "Personally I find that last one to be _very_ creative."

Sawyer arched an eyebrow up. "You remember _all_ of them?" he asked immediately.

Juliet chuckled. "You're deflecting.."

"You've gotta insane memory, I was deflectin' completely due to awe of yer' brilliance," Sawyer assured her with a grin.

Juliet shook her head and let out another laugh in response.

"Alright, alright," Sawyer conceded. "Truthfully, the honest to God truth?" he asked. At her nod he simply shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea, it's just automatic, can't really help myself."

Juliet eyed him with uncertainty now. "You've hardly called anyone by their real names in two days," she pointed out. "The only thing automatic about that is the fact you're trying to distance yourself from all of us."

"You a doctor or a shrink?" Sawyer questioned. "Not that it matters," he admitted. "Look how well that worked for me."

Juliet smiled sadly now. "You're not interested in me, James.." she assured him. "You showed me your letter, my marriage is just reminding you of your--"

"Don't," Sawyer warned.

Juliet glanced away. She realized fairly quickly she'd crossed the imaginary line between them with that one.

Sawyer sighed and studied her now. She was soaked, shivering and who knew what else. "Ya' realize we can't stay in these damned clothes, don't ya'?"

Juliet narrowed her eyes slightly. "I was trying to avoid that.."

Sawyer smirked. "Afraid I'll look?"

Juliet arched an eyebrow up at him. "No."

Sawyer was stunned for a moment. Just as the last time he'd told her she was attractive, she'd shot the idea down. "Well good, you should probably stand up.. take the clothes off _real_ slow, then you could do a kind of shimmy," he advised.

Juliet stared at him now. "What?"

Sawyer smirked. "Well, you don't think I'll look, what's the problem?"

Juliet was silent for a moment as she kept her eyes on him. "No chance in hell," she muttered, glancing away.

"I'll go first," he volunteered.

"What?" Juliet repeated, turning back to him in shock.

Sawyer grinned. "Well, either way, we can't sit here in wet clothes, it's getting dark, you wanna get sick?"

Juliet frowned slightly. There was of course, the small fact that he was right. Well, more like a rather large fact. Still, she couldn't tug away the self-conscious veil.

"Would it make you feel better if I said that I _would_ look?"

Juliet's mouth dropped open. "What? NO!" she exclaimed immediately. "Why would I take off my clothes if I knew you'd look?!"

"Why wouldn't you take them off if you didn't think I would?" he retorted. "Whether I look or not, you need to take them off.." he pointed out.

Juliet was silent.

"Do you still _believe in me_?" Sawyer questioned curiously. "I won't try anything, honestly.." he told her. "But hey, getting naked in front of another man, wouldn't that really sock it to yer' hubby?"

Juliet arched both eyebrows now. She pondered the thought for a moment before sighing and pulling her shirt over her head.

Sawyer nearly felt his eye twitch in response. He definitely felt his breath hitch. What was under the clothes most definitely wasn't what he'd expected. The woman had curves that looked like artwork. "Suddenly I regret that statement.."

Juliet glanced away and wrapped her arms around herself once more. "Knock it off.."

"What?" Sawyer asked her.

Juliet stood now, staring down at him. "Stop trying to make me feel better, stop pretending that I'm something I'm not," she told him angrily. "Just.. stop lying to me."

Sawyer stood now as well. "You think I'm lying?" he questioned. "You think that I don't find you attractive, not even a little?"

Juliet nodded her head. "Everyone lies, James," she pointed out.

"I'm not lying to you," Sawyer told her, taking a step closer.

Juliet tilted her head to the side slightly. "Yes, you are," she stated. "Look.. I can be naive, I know that, I stayed in my marriage of lies and deceit for 10 years thinking things could change," she told him. "But I _knew_ what he was doing, I'm not stupid, just like I know that there's no way you would find me attrac--"

She was cut off, and in shock, when she felt a pair of lips on hers. She was too shocked to respond in any way but to stand as stiff as a rock, her eyes wide. When he separated and moved away she couldn't even find words to speak.

"What were you sayin?" Sawyer questioned.

Juliet opened her mouth to speak but pressed her lips together in a tight line quickly. What was she supposed to say to him? "I don't.." she muttered. She shook her head, suddenly uncertain of what she meant to say at all. "I.." she paused, glancing around. Everything was spinning.

Sawyer narrowed his eyes slightly as he studied her. "Are you alright?" he asked immediately, taking a step forward towards her again.

Juliet shook her head, taking a step back and away from him.

"Look, I'm sorry for kissing you," Sawyer stated quickly.

"It's not.. it's not that.." she muttered, shaking her head. "I just.. I don't feel so good."

Sawyer frowned, watching as her eyes wandered in every direction. "Maybe you should sit dow--" he stopped mid-sentence when she fell backwards and he quickly reached out and grabbed her. "Sonuvabitch.." he muttered, pulling her back to her feet and up against him. "What's wrong?"

Juliet frowned, her head resting on his shoulder. "Really.. really dizzy.."

Sawyer sighed, wrapping his arms around her shivering body. "Yer' the doctor, got a diagnosis?" he questioned.

"Concussion.." she muttered. "Headache, dizziness.. nausea.." she explained quietly. "All signs of a concussion from the crash."

"Is that bad?" he asked curiously.

Juliet was silent for a moment. "No.. well.." she frowned, rethinking the passed two days. "Maybe.."

"Maybe?"

"I'm doing things I don't normally do, saying things I've _never_ said," Juliet admitted, closing her eyes. "Altered mental status is a sign of concussion symptoms worsening.. so is loss of consciousness."

"Loss of consciousness?" Sawyer questioned. "But you haven't--"

Juliet nodded. "In the jungle.. last night when.. Edmund took me out there."

Sawyer was silent for just a moment before speaking again. "I need to get you back to the beach," he stated. He glanced up to see the polar bear was still standing up on the cliff. "If our friend ever decides to forget about eating us for dinner."

Juliet nodded her head slightly in response. "I'll be fine," she assured him. "The only thing you can do for a concussion is rest."

Sawyer arched an eyebrow up at her. "Somehow I'm not sure jumping off a cliff qualifies as rest."

Juliet chuckled. "Neither does getting eaten by a polar bear."

"Touche," Sawyer said with a grin.

They were both silent for a moment before Juliet finally realized the closeness between them. She tried to determine whether she felt more comfortable or more uncomfortable. "Why did you kiss me?" she asked softly.

"Because I wouldn't kiss an unattractive woman," he told her with a grin.

Juliet pulled herself out of his embrace and gave him an odd look.

"Cross my heart," Sawyer swore with a smirk. "I really am that shallow."

Juliet laughed lightly in response. "That's horrible, you know that right?"

Sawyer glanced her over for a moment and froze. His eyes were now locked onto her side.

"What?" she questioned, folding her arms across herself self-consciously.

"What the hell is that?"

Juliet frowned and glanced down at her side regardless of the fact she knew what he was talking about already. She studied the wound on her side before speaking. "I guess that would be considered shrapnel," she answered carefully.

"Did you know it was there?" he questioned next, kneeling down and placing his hand on the exposed skin beneath it.

Juliet frowned but she nodded nonetheless.

Sawyer stared at her in shock. "Why the hell wouldn't ya' say something 'bout that?!" he growled out. "You don't just leave a piece of metal lodged in yer' goddamn side."

Juliet flinched slightly at his tone.

Sawyer sighed slightly. "I'm sorry.." he muttered. "Should we pull it out?" he questioned with uncertainty.

Juliet took a deep breath. "Probably.."

Sawyer stared at her. "Scale of 1 to 10, how bad does it hurt?" he questioned.

Juliet was silent for a moment. "I don't know.. I guess--"

Sawyer yanked out the piece of shrapnel.

"Jesus!" Juliet hissed out in pain, her hand instantly going to her side. She bit down on her lower lip hard. "Warn somebody before you go yanking large pieces of metal out of their flesh."

"Guess that was around a 7.." Sawyer muttered. "This next part will probably make it a 10."

"What are you talking about?" she questioned, staring at him.

Sawyer pulled out one of the small alcohol bottles from his pocket and waved it in front of her face.

"I hope you want me to drink it.." she muttered.

Sawyer pulled out a second one. "You can drink this one. The other one ya' _know_ is getting dumped over that wound."

"Where the hell are you pulling all of these out of?" she questioned with shock before accepting the bottle.

Sawyer chuckled. "Those are two I swiped from the cart while I was on the plane," he answered with a shrug. "Drink fast."

Juliet crinkled her nose in response before taking the top off the small bottle and drinking it down. She cringed slightly afterward before tossing the empty bottle aside.

"Holy crap, nice swig.." Sawyer stated with appreciation. He took the opportunity to pull her shirt from her hand and dip it into the water before draping it over his shoulder. "Ready?"

Juliet frowned but nodded nonetheless. "Guess so."

Sawyer took a deep breath and opened the top, then poured part of it over her wound. He flinched slightly when she cried out and he pulled her shirt off his shoulder and tied it around her side tightly over the wound. He glanced up and noticed the bear was gone from the cliff and he gave a sigh of relief. "Smoky got lost," he told her. He pulled off his shirt and draped it over her shoulders and watched her shaky hands button it up. "You ok?"

Juliet nodded her head slightly as she finished buttoning up the still wet shirt. Her blue eyes widened as she glanced behind him. "James.."

"What?"

"I found Smoky.."

Sawyer felt his face drop as he turned and stared at the bear that was now less then 50 feet away from them. "Oh boy.." he muttered. "Think you can climb?"

Juliet nodded, though she wasn't as certain as she hoped she would be. She allowed him to pull her along behind him as they headed towards a spot where they could climb up, neither one dared to look back as they heard the ground trembling proving the polar bear was indeed heading towards them.

Sawyer grabbed an edge and pulled himself up. He caught the glimpse of the polar bear getting dangerously close as he reached his hand down and grabbed Juliet's hand, pulling her up with him before continuing upward even as the bear roared below them in disapproval.

When they finally reached the top, Sawyer studied her with a bit of worry. "You gonna be ok gettin' back to the beach?" he asked her softly.

Juliet swayed a little on her feet, thankful that Sawyer kept his hand on the small of her back to keep her balance now. "I'm not sure.." she answered honestly. She let out a yelp of surprise as she was lifted off the ground and she stared at Sawyer in shock. "What are you doing?"

"Letting you rest," Sawyer stated, carrying her as he walked back towards the beach. "Not waitin' for Smoky to find his way back up the hill for dinner.."

Juliet nodded slightly. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Sawyer questioned, glancing down at her with curiosity.

"You wouldn't be in this mess if you weren't trying to make sure I was alright," she pointed out, resting her head on his shoulder.

Sawyer chuckled slightly. "Actually, I wouldn't be in this mess if ya' were unattractive," he assured her. "Unfortunately for you, now that I know ya' got a chest sculpted by God, my shallow ass ain't goin' nowhere."

Juliet couldn't help but laugh lightly in response. Finally she closed her eyes.

Sawyer glanced down at her as he noticed her breathing even out and he sighed as he shook his head. He was in for some trouble, because there was something about the blonde bombshell in his arms that drew him towards her. And that was never, ever, a good thing.

_As long as the skies are blue,_

_I'll be drawn to you._

**()()TBC()()**

**Like I said. I really wanted to make this chapter longer. But, I keep sleeping, my head hurts. Head trauma sucks. Now it's time to get back to bed.**

**Note to all people who play umpires for little kids baseball games? Watch out for the little bastards that THROW the bats. It's dangerous..**


	6. The Truth of Things

**Author's Note**: Sorry about the wait again. I've been catching up on watching Flashforward. And sleeping notoriously due to all my medications. I think I slept more in the passed few days then I have the last month.

This one is for **AdulterousWhore**!!!

**Fate's a Fickle Foe**:

_The curse of the mind,_

_Is that it never forgets._

_**-Fragma**_

"It has been a few hours, Jack.." Sayid stated, a little after Jack, Kate and Charlie returned with the radio. "We have not seen Sawyer or Juliet," he admitted. "Miles and I searched a bit for them, all we found was a half-eaten body."

Jack was silent for a moment as he took in Sayid's words. "Was it.. one of them?"

Sayid shook his head. "It.. did not appear to be, but.. it would be hard to determine _who_ it was."

Jack frowned slightly in response. He was about to speak when he saw Sawyer emerge from the jungle with Juliet passed out in his arms.

"Doc, need you to take a look at somethin'," Sawyer muttered, walking over to him and Sayid.

"Is she alright?" Jack questioned, taking in their appearance. Both of them had wet hair and Juliet was wearing Sawyer's wet shirt.

Sawyer shrugged. "Think so," he answered. After a moment he shook her awake. "Upsy daisy, sleepin' beauty," he stated.

Juliet opened her eyes and frowned up at Sawyer. "..another nickname?" she questioned hoarsely.

"The doc here needs to lookit' that side of yers'," he explained, setting her on her feet.

Juliet gave him a look of uncertainty before she lifted up Sawyer's shirt slightly and allowed him to untie her own shirt from her stomach.

Jack squatted down to take a look at the wound that appeared to have only just recently stopped bleeding. "We've got a sewing kit.." he told her, glancing up at her. "It hurts like a bitch, but.. it's the best we can do."

Juliet nodded slightly.

"How did this happen?" Jack questioned, pulling the sewing kit from his back pocket.

Juliet glanced at her side as well. "I.. sort of had a piece of shrapnel lodged in my side.."

Jack arched an eyebrow up at her as her words hit him. "When did you take it out?"

"I took it out.. about an hour ago," Sawyer explained. "Right before we nearly got eaten by a polar bear for the _second_ time."

"I see-- wait.. a _what_?!" Jack asked in shock.

Juliet raised an eyebrow up as Jack froze while threading the needle. "You heard him correctly.." she assured him. "There's a polar bear out there."

"Does that explain why you guys are soaked head to toe?" Sayid asked.

Juliet nodded slightly.

"Kinda sorta' had to jump off a little cliff into a lake to get away," Sawyer explained. "Least til smoky found his way down to the bottom for dinner."

Jack frowned slightly. "You're sure it was a _polar_ bear?" he asked them, finishing threading the needle. "Black okay?" he questioned Juliet.

Juliet chuckled slightly. "Yes.. we're sure, and I would have preferred purple, but since you already threaded the needle.." she joked. "Might as well just give me the black." She locked eyes momentarily with Edmund down the beach who was eying her suspiciously and with a look of disdain.

"Ignore him," Sawyer told her, placing a hand on her shoulder supportively. "He screws with ya' and I'll kick his scrawny little ass."

There was silence between all of them as Jack sewed up her side.

Juliet gave herself props for barely flinching as the needle was threaded in and out, though she supposed the mini-alcohol bottle she'd drank earlier had done the trick for her. She wasn't much of a drinker. Though the idea of picking up a few more bottles was becoming pretty appealing. There would be nothing like becoming a drunk on a deserted island, right?

Apparently she'd managed to drift off into no man's land. Because before she knew it Sayid, Miles and Jack had all walked away and she was left standing side-by-side with Sawyer.

"So, how about that question you've professionally managed to avoid these passed couple days," Sawyer suggested, breaking the silence. Secretly he was in awe at how well she handled Jack threading a needle through her skin, but he realized quickly she'd been completely zoned out throughout the entire procedure. She didn't even seem to realize it was over.

Juliet glanced at him and arched both eyebrows up in response. "What question?"

"Why do you stay with him?" Sawyer questioned, studying her face for a reaction. He noticed her visibly falter in response to the question and he almost felt bad.

Juliet was silent for a moment as she pondered how to answer the question. She could tell him part of the truth, or she could tell him the entire truth. Either way, now that she thought about it, the truth was stupid. "It's.. a ridiculous reason now that I think about it.." she admitted.

Sawyer shrugged. "Sometimes we all do things for ridiculous reasons," he pointed out.

"True.." Juliet agreed. "Honestly, my goal since I was little was to prove to my parents that two people _can_ be meant to be together," she stated sheepishly. "It's juvenile, I know.." she admitted quickly. "In all honesty, six years ago I told him I was going to leave him," she told him, glancing out into the jungle. "And he slapped me for it, and for whatever reason.. whether my stupid quest for life-time love or fear, I'm not quite sure.. I stayed."

Sawyer remained silent now.

"And.. I tried to leave him a year and a half ago as well," she admitted next. "But he blackmailed me into staying."

Sawyer frowned slightly in response. He wasn't entirely sure what to say to her in response to that. She had stayed with a man who used her as a punching bag because she didn't want to get a divorce? Because she was afraid? Perhaps it had been a mix of both at the time. But then blackmail? How much did the man really need to put his wife through before he let her go?

Then he thought back to his own parents. Perhaps people were never just willing to let each other go. His father had been willing to kill his mother and himself, and suffice to say, probably would have killed his own son as well had he known he was under the bed. He wondered now if she was right in her assumption. That his interest in her was only because of his parents.

Now something else hit him. Something he wasn't quite sure how to explain but the familiarity of the conversation seemed all too real. What he suddenly remembered seemed even more vivid then it should. But that facts were all skewed. His mind must have been playing tricks.

**...Flashback(1974)...**

"_'nother beer?" he questioned, eyeballing the blonde sitting cross-legged on the couch. They'd been in the 70's for a few months now and he still didn't know all that much about her. But he knew one good way to get people to open up. Get someone drunk enough and they tended to tell you everything they never wanted you to know about themselves._

_Juliet eyed Sawyer with suspicion. "Sure," she agreed, catching the beer as it flew through the air to her on the couch. They both opened their cans at the same time and she finally spoke again when he sat down beside her. "If there's something you want to know, why don't you just try asking?"_

_Sawyer chuckled. "Well, is that an invitation for discussion?" he questioned curiously. "I figured it would take at least a whole 6-pack to yer'self before you started opening up."_

"_Fire at will, captain," Juliet stated with a mock salute. "I'll give you 5 questions, I'll answered them honestly and with detail if you'd like. But no more then five."_

_Sawyer was quiet for a moment as he studied her face with uncertainty. "What's the catch?"_

"_No catch," she assured him. "I know everything about you, and it wasn't information you gave willingly, I figure I owe you a few details on me if that's what you're aiming for."_

_Sawyer nodded his head in response. He was getting over his surprise at how easy it had been. She was only on the second beer and she'd agreed to five questions. "Ever been married?"_

_Juliet faltered slightly in sipping her beer before she looked over at Sawyer. "Yes," she replied honestly. She had promised to be honest in her answers. Then again, she'd also promised to give details. "Right.. explanation," she muttered. "I'm divorced, would the statement of.. he was a vindictive bastard be insightful enough?"_

_Sawyer arched an eyebrow up._

"_Guess not," she mumbled, taking a rather large swig of the beer now._

"_Hey, if ya' really don't wanna talk about him--"_

"_It's fine," she assured him, shaking her head. "His name was Edmund, I was married to him for three years," she admitted. "We worked together, then he became my boss," she explained. "I suppose the power went to his head, both heads so to speak."_

_Both of Sawyer's eyebrows raised in response to her statement. The man had cheated on _her_? That didn't even seem remotely plausible._

"_He got his promotion and two months later I caught the new research assistant leaving his office adjusting her clothes, he hadn't quite finished with his own when I walked in," Juliet explained casually. "I told him I was leaving him."_

"_How'd that go over?" Sawyer questioned curiously._

_Juliet arched an eyebrow up. "Is that your second question?"_

"_Guess so."_

_Juliet was silent for another moment. She was already regretting her decision about this 5 questions thing. "He slapped me."_

"_What?!" Sawyer questioned, his voice slightly outraged without being able to contain himself._

_Juliet shrugged. "I handed him the divorce papers the next day."_

_Sawyer was quiet for a moment, uncertain if he was even willing to commit to three more questions. If ever there was a reason for a woman to be as cold and calculating as this one was, Juliet most certainly had one of the best ones. He agreed with the quote 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.'_

_Juliet took a smaller swig of her beer before locking eyes with Sawyer. "You can keep asking," she reminded him. "You've still got four more questions."_

"_Three," Sawyer reminded him._

_Juliet smiled a little. "I figured that last part pretty much still went with your first question," she explained. "Go ahead, you've got four more."_

"_What are you tryin' so damn hard to go home to?" Sawyer asked, unable to help himself. That was the question that had been nagging him since he'd swam back to shore and saw her drowning herself in rum out of the sorrow of losing her last chance to leave the island._

"_What makes you think its not just that I hate this place?" she questioned curiously._

_Sawyer chuckled._

"_My sister," Juliet answered almost immediately afterward. "She was pregnant when I came to the island, I was only staying for six months so I would be back before she gave birth."_

_Sawyer's eyes softened slightly in response. "Alright.. question three, if that's true, why didn't you leave after six months was up?"_

_Juliet felt her eyes glazing over and she quickly looked down at her beer rather then at Sawyer. "She was dying.."_

_Sawyer was silenced immediately in response._

"_Ben made me a deal, if I stayed on the island, he would cure Rachel," she admitted. "So I stayed. He did show me proof she was alive and well," she explained. "Live video feed of her and my nephew.. she named him Julian."_

_That made Sawyer smile a little. But it also led to his next question. "Alright.. fourth.." he decided. "Why did Ben care so much whether you stayed or didn't stay on the island?"_

_Juliet didn't answer. Instead she tapped her fingers lightly on the beer can in her hand._

_Sawyer opened his mouth to speak when Juliet's sudden words cut him off._

"_He thinks that I'm his," was her only reply. Her voice was soft, concerned, not at all like her normal tone._

_Sawyer wasn't sure what to say to that. Or what question he could even ask next._

"_I changed my mind.." Juliet stated softly, standing up and putting her beer down on the end table on the side of the couch. "I think I'll consider that question 5."_

_Sawyer said nothing as she walked down towards her bedroom._

**...End Flashback...**

"James?" Juliet asked softly. "Are you alright?" Forgetting all about Edmund down the beach watching her, she placed her hand gently on Sawyer's arm. "James?"

Sawyer locked eyes with her worried blue ones and and nodded. "I'm fine," he stated. He was lying to her. What he'd just thought about, it seemed like a memory but it wasn't possible. He barely knew this woman. He'd known her for a few days, that was it.

"Are you sure?" she questioned. "You.. don't look so sure."

"I just--" he paused as Claire waddled her way over towards them both.

"Hey, thought you two could use some dry clothes," Claire said with a smile. She pointed Sawyer over towards Jin and Sun. "Jin and Sun, they've been sorting a lot of the clothes. You can find some stuff over there, Sawyer," she told him. She looked at Juliet. "I brought some over for you, I hope you don't mind."

Juliet watched as Sawyer nodded his head in thanks and headed over towards the two Koreans. "Of course not.." she assured Claire. Although she did eye the pair of faded gray jeans and magenta tank top with uncertainty as she took a hold of them, she said nothing of it.

"Follow me, I'll show you a good place to change," Claire stated, grabbing Juliet's free hand and pulling her with her.

**()()TBC()()**

**I wanted to make this longer. But I also wanted to give you guys another chapter this morning rather then tonight. I'm sorry for any errors! My meds make me all loopy.. it's hard for me to catch them all. I'll go back when I'm less doped up later and fix anything I missed now. Until then.. I need a serious nap.**


	7. Ignorance

**Author's Note**: You guys are all so silly, but that's why I love you! Yes, I'm still okay :) No need for all of you to get your panties in a bunch! Cheers though! V premiered tonight. Elizabeth Mitchell was awesome, and the next episode looks equally as amazing! I think I'm going to love the show.

See. The problem for you silly people is that you read the spoilers. Me? I'm a Christmas morning girl. I prefer to wait for the surprise. Anyways. This chapter goes to **pani zagloba**!!

**Fate's a Fickle Foe**:

_I just wanna scream and lose control,_

_I just want to fall and lose myself._

_**Avril Lavigne**_

Already a week had passed without rescue. Sayid had made his attempts to fix the radio that Kate, Jack and Charlie had gotten from the cockpit, but there had been no luck with it.

For seven days they had all lived together on the beach. For seven days they had become a bonded force, broken apart yet kept together by deaths of people in their group. Several people had simply disappeared, Edmund Burke included. The woman Joana that had drowned, that had affected them all the most. Not only was the jungle dangerous, but the water as well.

Juliet could see that most people now preferred to steer clear of the ocean, besides her. If she stayed close to the crashing waves she could feel a little more at home. A little more like she was back in Miami, with Rachel. Rachel.. did her sister think she was dead? She dared to allow her blue eyes to wander around and look at all the people on the beach. How many people out there thought their family was dead when really they were standing here; surviving, hoping, praying for rescue?

Ever since Edmund disappeared, she noticed that Sawyer didn't find it nearly as necessary to keep an eye on her or be around her as much. She didn't blame him though. There was nothing left to protect her from if her husband went off into the jungle and got himself killed. Yet, she wasn't sure why the thought of Edmund dying made her feel a pang of distress, the tiniest twinge of sadness.

She kind of preferred it now that all the attention wasn't so focused on her anymore. And even though most people left her to herself now, it wasn't as though she'd been making any attempts to talk to them either. And even when a certain few did make their attempts to talk to her, she usually kept the chatting to a minimal. No one stayed to talk to her for very long. It felt almost as if she'd out-casted herself from the tight-knit group.

"Hey."

Juliet shook herself out of her reverie and looked at whoever had come to chat this time. She gave a slight smile to Hurley. He was probably one of the few people she actually didn't mind chatting with when they came by. "Hi Hugo.."

"Aww, c'mon," he whined. "You didn't forget to like, call me Hurley already, did you?"

Juliet felt the corners of her lips twitch upwards further. "I'm sorry."

"You alright?" Hurley questioned, eying her suspiciously. "You've barely talked to anybody. And like.. we're all a little worried."

Juliet tilted her head to the side slightly at his statement. "I just want to go home, Hurley.. that's all."

Hurley grinned. "Brighten up. We're gonna get rescued."

Juliet's eyes softened a little bit. "I wish I had your faith in that," she replied, glancing out at the water rather then at Hurley now. She sighed slightly, hating to reject Hurley's plans to talk to her more but she stood up. "I'll be back.. just going to take a walk."

"I could go with you.."

"No.. that's alright," she stated, forcing a smile now. "I'd like to go alone.."

Hurley frowned a little and watched as she walked off down the beach.

"Where's she goin' man?"

Hurley glanced at Sawyer. "She said she wanted to take a walk, said she wanted to like.. go alone."

Sawyer frowned now as well. Honestly he felt horrible for ignoring her the last couple of days. But it really was best for her. Sure, she'd read his letter, she had a vague idea about him, but she had no idea of all the things he'd already done in his life. In a sense, he was probably _worse_ then her husband was.

Not too much later Juliet realized she'd already wandered a pretty far distance away from the rest of the survivors. She realized it because when she looked back, she could see nothing that even showed people were here. She stared back in the direction of their camp for a minute before turning around. She gasped and tripped backwards, falling down after she came face to face with another pair of blue eyes.

"Hello there."

"Who.. who are you?" Juliet muttered out, getting back to her feet.

He smiled. "Relax, Doctor Burke," he stated, putting his hands up in a mock surrender. "I was simply going to ask you for your.. expertise."

Juliet stepped back and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "My expertise? How do you even know who I am?"

The smile never faded, not even for a second. "Why.. your husband told us of course. Very.. unpleasant man."

"Edmund?" she questioned. She finally glanced this man over. A dirtied white shirt. Brown vest, old brown pants. "Who _are_ you? Where is Edmund?"

"I'll answer all of your questions if you'll help us."

Juliet didn't like the sound of that. "Us?" she questioned, the uncertainty growing.

He chuckled.

"No way.." Juliet stated, taking yet another step back from the man.

"Not a good choice, dear Juliet.." the man assured her.

Juliet watched as several other people stepped out of the jungle and she didn't hesitate to turn on her heel and run back towards camp.

"We're the good guys, Juliet," he called out. He glanced at the people behind him. "Go get her.."

"What if their people resist?" they questioned.

He shrugged. "Just get her."

They nodded.

Juliet kept running and looking back, without realizing she ran straight into someone and let out a screech, backing away quickly.

"Jesus!" Sawyer growled out. "Breathe chicken little.." he muttered. "The sky ain't fallin' just yet."

Juliet stared at him, blue eyes wide. "There's.." she huffed out, turning and pointing behind her.

Sawyer glanced behind her and stared in shock as several men came running down the beach. "Sonuvabitch.." he stated, grabbing her hand and pulling her with him down the beach. "Who the hell are they?!"

"I don't know!" she yelled back. "Wanna stop and ask them?"

"Wise-ass.." Sawyer muttered as they reached their camp. "Watch it people!" he yelled out. "Think we got some angry natives!"

Jack and Sayid both stared at him as though he'd lost his mind. At least until gun-shots rang out and people began screaming and running.

Juliet stared in fear as one man didn't bother with anyone else, simply aimed his rifle towards Sawyer who was standing protectively in front of her. She stared at everyone running and screaming, watched all of the 'natives' aim guns at unarmed people. All of this because these people wanted her.

Most of the survivors were now backed up to the tree line now.

"Just give us the doctor, and nobody here has to get hurt.." the one man called out.

Jack stepped forward with uncertainty.

"Not _you_, Doctor Shephard."

"Who?" Jack questioned, staring at him in confusion.

The man pointed his rifle towards Sawyer and Juliet. "Her, Doctor Burke."

Juliet had her fingers gripping tightly onto the back of Sawyer's shirt.

"No chance in hell," Sawyer assured the man. He dared a glance back at her. He could see the confusion, the fear just radiating off of her.

The man shrugged. "You can hide her behind you all you want, we'll just shoot you all until she's the last one standing."

Juliet let out a strangled breath before stepping out from behind Sawyer.

"No," Sawyer told her quietly, grabbing her hand gently.

Juliet's eyes softened slightly. "I'm not letting everyone die for me, James.." she told him, placing her free hand on his cheek. "Why don't I protect you this time?"

Sawyer shook his head. "No one wants ya' to be a martyr.." he told her. "Ain't nobody expects you to.. ya' don't know what these people are goin' to do."

She smiled sadly. "And I'm sure they all want to live to see rescue.." she reminded him. "I'll.. I'll be okay."

Sawyer didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to stop her from going with these people. He did the only thing he could think of. He pulled her closer and pressed his lips against hers. He'd been wanting to do that again for five days.

Most of the survivor's stared in awed silence. None knew what to think about what they were now seeing.

"The sooner you come with us, the sooner you can come back," the man stated.

Juliet stared into Sawyer's eyes for a moment, uncertainty with _everything_ filling her entire mindset. What did he want from her? What did he see in her? What did _they_ want from her? She was nobody and right now all of the survivor's and these natives were staring at her as though she were somebody important.

"Yer' bringing her back?" Sawyer asked them, finally looking away from Juliet and at the man that had spoken.

"Of course," he replied with a nod of his head. "It's necessary for us to get her to help us, but.. we are not savages, we only want her help."

Sawyer didn't believe that for one moment. "When?"

"A few days at the most," he answered without a second thought.

Sawyer locked eyes with Juliet once again. He could still see the confusion, the fear. "I'm goin' with her."

The man chuckled. "I'm afraid you're not."

Juliet smiled a little at Sawyer before giving his hand a squeeze and turning away from him.

"Juliet.." Sawyer muttered.

Juliet turned and looked at him for a moment. She didn't know where it came from, but the words just flew from her mouth automatically as if she'd said them before. "You don't have to do your.. white-knight savior act, James," she told him. She could tell her face was hard as stone and she wasn't sure how she'd managed it. "You won't even notice I'm gone with the way you've been ignoring me," she assured him before turning and walking towards the man with the rifle.

Sawyer stared at her in shock. The look on her face had been something he didn't even think was possible from somebody as sweet as her. Her eyes had been hollow and icy to match their color, her entire face a mask covering any emotions that might have been running through her. Or did that look seem familiar? The words felt familiar as well.

**...Flashback(January, 1975)...**

_A knock on the door startled both Juliet and Sawyer who had been sitting on the couch reading their books in silence. Juliet got up to answer it, leaving the book open on the cushion. "Hello Horace."_

"_Juliet, just who I needed to talk to."_

_Juliet tilted her head to the side in confusion, but she stepped aside and allowed Horace to enter the house the Initiative had given to the two of them. "What can I do for you?"_

_Sawyer barely glanced up from the book he was reading. He and Juliet hadn't spoken in days. Regardless of the fact she was beginning to grow on him ever since she decided not to get on the sub after her promised two weeks were up; they both had been ignorant of each other. Truthfully, he couldn't even remember what their fight had been about, but he wasn't going to give in first._

"_Jim," Horace stated, nodding his head towards the man._

_Sawyer just gave a slight nod and continued reading. "H."_

_Juliet rolled her eyes. "Ignore him.." she told Horace. "He's got his boxers in a bunch."_

_Horace smiled. He had to admit he enjoyed the blonde's sense of humor. Unlike other women she was much more crude and to the point. Yet, she was also private and caring. He didn't know anything about her other then she knew how to work mechanics on a salvage boat, her name was Juliet, and she'd lost the person she cared for on the ship. "Not a problem, I was actually hoping for a favor."_

_Juliet smiled at him in return. "Sure thing, what do you need?"_

"_Well, you said you were a mechanic right?" he questioned._

_Juliet nodded. "Yes."_

"_Can you work on cars or just boats?"_

_Juliet let out a small laugh. "Cars are cake compared to a giant ship, Horace.. what do you need?"_

_Sawyer looked up out of interest, arching an eyebrow and closing his book. No way in hell. The mechanic thing had been a lie, hadn't it? This he had to see._

"_We're short on mechanics, and the men in the motor pool are all busy," Horace explained. "I was hoping if you wouldn't mind, we'd bring you up to one of our stations for a few days. A couple for the vans out there are acting up."_

_Juliet blinked. "Stations?" she asked, playing the confused woman._

"_Which station she goin' to?" Sawyer questioned, his interest picked as he stood and walked over._

"_Not important," Horace stated. _

_Sawyer didn't like the answer. "That means its in a dangerous location," he mumbled. "No chance in hell yer' takin' her somewhere dangerous."_

_Juliet was momentarily taken aback by Sawyer's words. "I'm sorry, when did you start speaking for me?" she questioned with annoyance. A few days ago he told her she was nothing but a cold-hearted bitch, now suddenly he cared about what happened to her? "You don't need to do your.. white-knight savior act, James," she told him. "You won't even notice I'm gone with the way you've been ignoring me."_

_Horace felt a bit awkward. Obviously they'd been fighting the past few days, everyone could see it. "I'm sorry.. this.. is a bad time?"_

"_Not at all," Juliet assured him. "Do we need to leave now?"_

"_If you don't mind.."_

_Juliet nodded. "I'll pack some clothes.."_

_Sawyer watched as she walked down the hall towards the bedroom. He ran a finger through his hair and sighed. The look she'd given him had been colder then anything ever before. Her eyes had been frighteningly icy blue. He glanced at Horace who was giving him a sympathetic look. "It's like havin' a damned wife.." he muttered before going back to the couch and sitting down._

**...End Flashback...**

The man pointed the rifle at Sawyer as Juliet stood beside him now. "A fair warning, should any of you try to follow.. you'll _never_ see her again."

Sawyer was now frozen in place. If there were anything the man could say to keep him in line, that was probably the best one. Because the underlying threat was there. If they followed. She was dead.

So instead they all stood and watched in silence as the men with guns led Juliet through the jungle.

~*~*~*~

Just a few hours later and Juliet could see again. The bag had been removed from her head and she was in some sort of medical station. She glanced around with uncertainty at the people around her. "What do you want from me?" she asked them.

The man who had confronted her first once again came up to her. "Follow me," he told her, leading her down the hall. He showed her to a window. "My name is Benjamin Linus," he told her. "This is my island, and this is the fourth woman to get pregnant on my island and show symptoms like this."

Juliet glanced through the window at the woman who was gasping for breath as though she were having trouble getting air. She didn't move at first, but after a moment she went into the room. She glanced up at different X-Rays hanging on slate in the room. "Whose are these?"

Another man came up beside her. "These were the last three women.." he told her.

Juliet stared at him for a moment before glancing at the X-Rays once again. "Were?"

"They died."

Juliet froze. She stared back at the woman sitting on the table and she felt some sort of natural instinct kick in. As though she'd dealt with this before. "How long has she been having trouble breathing like this?"

The man sighed.

"Fine.. how much more time does she have?" Juliet questioned with annoyance.

"The others only lasted two more days before going comatose and never waking up.." he explained.

Juliet was silent for a moment as she thought about it. "Do you have lab tests done?"

He nodded.

"Show them to me," she ordered him immediately. She was amazed at how easily this all came to her.

He nodded once more. As he led her to the next room he decided to introduce himself. "My name's Goodwin," he told her.

She said nothing as he handed the folder to her. She felt like someone else had completely taken her over, like this wasn't even her anymore. All she knew was that she wanted to try and save this woman. She had to try.

**()()TBC()()**

**And on that note. I need to go to bed so I get up for class in the morning. Good-night everyone! You're all wonderful. **


	8. Pain of the Heart

**Author's Note**: Wow. You guys always make me so happy with all of the reviews I just never know what to do with myself!! I guess you guys agree with me that this is one of my best stories thus far! I'm glad all of you are enjoying it because so am I! And to think.. we're only into season 1! How many seasons do you guys want me to go through? Ahaha.

Alright. This chapter goes to** everyone!! **I can't believe I've hit 100 reviews already! Talk about inspiring. Just 7 chapters got me 100 reviews. All of you guys are the best! Sorry for the wait, its been a long week with mid-terms and work.

**Fate's a Fickle Foe**:

_Lust, spite and malice, your degrees of sin,_

_Wrap me in your trauma and I may just give you mine._

_**-Placebo**_

Sawyer was fidgety on day one of Juliet being gone. He'd been as close as possible to going right after her, the only thing stopping him being the man's face as he warned them not to follow them. A look that said they wouldn't hesitate to kill her if they attempted a rescue. This was the downside to caring about somebody.

On the second day she was missing he was worse then fidgety. He was downright pissed off at himself for letting her go. In his own defense her stone cold eyes had stunned him into watching her leave with those men. On the other hand, what if she'd been hoping he'd try and keep her safe anyways?

There was no winning in this situation. By day three he didn't think they were going to bring her back. And he was right. They didn't.

Instead while he'd been sleeping with a burdened mind that she could be dead, he woke up to the feeling of a hand on his cheek and found himself staring up into teary-eyed ice blue eyes. She had come back on her own.

He was sitting up in an instant noticing how distraught Juliet seemed to be. "What happened?" he asked immediately. "What'd they do to you?"

"Nothing.." she answered, her voice filled with the ultimate sadness. "They.. had a pregnant woman who was dying.." she explained quietly, trying to keep her voice low so not to alert the other sleeping survivors.

Sawyer studied her face. He wasn't sure how to respond to the statement.

"It was their fourth woman to get pregnant and die.. they hoped I could save her," she told him honestly. "I couldn't.."

Sawyer took a deep breath.

"I'm not used to death.." she told him, a few tears making their way down her face.

Sawyer blew out the breath he'd been holding in and pulled the blonde into his arms. "It ain't yer' fault.." he told her. This was the part that was the worst about caring too much for somebody. Their pain became your pain. It hurt to see her in pain. "You tried, Juliet.."

Juliet shook her head, burying her face in his shoulder for a moment. Yes, it was true, she did _try_, but she didn't succeed. A woman died because she couldn't do anything. She made _one_ miracle for her sister, _one_ miracle put her in Australia, _one_ miracle put her on that plane fated to crash. And yet she would never take that miracle back. Because it was her sister's miracle as well.

Finally she pulled away and stared straight into his eyes. She didn't hesitate now to press her lips against his. Within moments she had him laying back down on his back and she was straddling him.

~*~*~*~

On the morning of the fourth day Sawyer woke up alone. He vaguely remembered the middle of the night where Juliet had returned but he certainly didn't forget. The blonde had practically ravaged him to forget her pain and he'd allowed it. He'd fallen asleep with her but now she was gone and he wondered now if she'd ever been there to begin with.

When he got out of the tent he noticed she had indeed been there. She was currently sitting off by herself by the edge of the ocean much like the beginning of the day she'd been taken away by those people four days ago. Every single survivor seemed uncertain as to whether or not to approach her. Clearly no one had dared to try.

He wasn't even certain himself if he should after last night. Chances were she probably regretted the decision to sleep with him. Though he admitted she hadn't given him much say in the matter, he still felt as though he'd taken advantage of her state of mind. It worried him that even though he had objected to the circumstances she'd refused to accept his objections. He didn't think he'd ever been used quite like that before. He wasn't sure if he liked it.

Finally the side that was more worried about her won out and he found himself sitting next to her. For a few moments they both remained silent but after that he found himself glancing her over. He hadn't gotten the chance to truly check her over last night to see if she was hurt, but other then the fading cut on her face, she appeared to be unharmed. After another minute she finally turned and locked eyes with him. He was more then a little surprised to see a small smile appear.

"I really should apologize.." she stated, daring to speak first. "I mean.. I don't regret doing it, only.. how I went about it," she clarified, afraid she might have given him the wrong idea by the look of uncertainty on his face. "I've never done that before.."

Sawyer chuckled slightly, unable to help himself at the sudden distraught look that crossed her face at the realization of what she'd actually done last night.

Juliet looked slightly mortified now. "Does this mean I'm like Edmund?" she asked suddenly. "Was that.. considered cheating?"

Sawyer arched both eyebrows in response. "I.. don't think so?" he answered, frowning. "Ya' _did_ tell him you were gettin' a divorce.. I figure that's the enduva' relationship right there."

Juliet let out a relieved chuckle. "I suppose you're right.." she agreed. "I.. also wanted to apologize about what I said to you before I went with them.."

"Ya' mean before they kidnapped ya'," he corrected.

Juliet was silent for a moment. "They were just trying to save a woman and her baby, James.." she informed him. She released a shaky breath, remembering how the woman slipped into the coma. They had attempted a surgery to save her but it hadn't done any good. The woman had died on the table. And although Juliet didn't know her, she still felt the loss in the core of her heart. "He's right, you know.."

"Who is?" Sawyer questioned out of confusion. "And about what?"

Juliet allowed her gaze to drift back to the ocean. "Edmund.." she replied. "He's right, I really am useless, that woman died because I couldn't save her."

Sawyer frowned slightly in response and reached his hand out to her chin, turning her face so that she was looking back at him. "Take a look around," he told her. "Ya' ain't useless, four days ago ya' saved every single person on this beach."

Juliet followed the trail of his finger and glanced around at everyone who was watching her. She hadn't noticed before that all of them seemed to be giving her looks of gratitude.

"Half these jerks probably' woulda' let them start shooting people before they offered themselves up," Sawyer pointed out. "Hell.. some probably wouldn't have offered themselves up at all."

Juliet turned her gaze back on Sawyer and smiled a little. "What would you have done?" she dared to ask.

"If yer' askin' would I have let them shoot everyone, the answer is no," he assured her. "If yer' askin' if I would have gone to them immediately?" he asked. He shrugged. "Ain't no way I'd know what I'd've done."

Juliet felt the corners of her mouth curve further upwards. "At least you're honest."

"Not usually," he pointed out with a chuckle. She'd be the first person to ever consider him anything close to honest. Then again. She also once called him a good guy. He'd rejected that idea as well. "Watch out for those people, Blondie," he warned her. "I don't think they got no good intentions when it comes to all of us."

"They let me go.." she stated, uncertain as to what he meant.

Sawyer nodded. "What's to say they won't come back for another of us when they get themselves another problem they don't know how to solve?"

Juliet was silent in response to that. "There was one man.." she stated. "He said his name was Ben," she told him. "He.. was a little creepy."

Sawyer stared at her questioningly.

"He was the person that first approached me.." she stated. "They seem to know who all of us are," she stated. "I saw files, with all of our names on them."

Sawyer narrowed his eyes slightly. "Files?" he questioned.

She nodded her head in response. "I got to look at a few when they left me alone for a moment.." she replied. "They seem especially interested in Jack," she explained. "These aren't regular people, James.." she assured him. "There were four files on a desk, I caught the names on them," she explained. "Mine, Jack's, Kate's.. and yours."

"Mine?" Sawyer questioned, suddenly a bit more alert then he had been moments before. "What was in these so-called files?" he asked immediately.

Juliet could only shake her head. "I.. don't know," she answered honestly. "They didn't leave me alone with them long enough for me to open them and look," she admitted. Both of them were quiet again for a minute before she spoke again. "Do you.. really think they might come back again?"

Sawyer studied the look of fear and worry on her face now. "I sure as hell hope not," he muttered.

"Should we tell Jack?" she questioned.

Sawyer was silent now as he thought about it. "Yeah," he mumbled, waving his hand over at Jack and motioning the man over. They'd turned the man into their faux leader, so he supposed it was only right to keep the man in the loop that these people might be coming back for more people.

"Are you alright?" Jack questioned, sitting down on the opposite side of Juliet and placing his hand on her shoulder. At her nod he spoke again. "You know, you saved everyone here," he assured her, surprised to see a smile form on her lips at his words. He figured that meant Sawyer had already told her the same thing.

"I'm not a hero, Jack," she assured him, looking at Sawyer for a moment before turning back to Jack. "I need to tell you what I saw."

Jack was silent for a moment as he studied the serious look on both their faces. "Alright," he answered, removing his hand from her shoulder. He realized he let his fingers trail down her arm and he hastily removed his hand completely. Although she didn't seem to notice, he still felt slightly odd about it. Because it felt familiar.

Juliet studied Jack's face for a moment. She _had_ noticed his fingers trail down her arm slightly longer then necessary. It seemed more then slightly familiar. It felt like she _knew_ this man.

**...Flashback...**

"_I heard you only liked them grilled."_

_Jack chuckled. "I missed the toothpicks too." He accepted the sandwich she handed him through the cage and he looked her up and down. There was obvious pain in her eyes, the way she had walked. "Let me see."_

"_Jack--"_

"_They marked you, let me see it," he stated, needing to know for certain if she was tricking him again._

_Juliet glanced over at the doors of the hyrdra with uncertainty before turning around and lifting her shirt up just slightly for him to see the newly reddened brand on her back. _

_Jack felt his breath hitch just _staring_ at the so-called 'mark'. It wasn't a damned mark. Those people had branded her like she was cattle. The brand was red, disgusting, and some strange symbol that he didn't recognize. He closed his eyes for just a moment as he looked away and in that time she'd covered it back up and turned around._

_He could see her take a moment before she met his eyes again and he glanced behind her. "Break a branch off that aloe plant.."_

"_It's okay, Jack--"_

"_Please," he stated, noticed the sweat beading off her forehead. She was clearly in pain and uncomfortable and he felt horrible. "Please do it."_

_Juliet said nothing in response. She looked away and instead turned and did as he asked, squatting instead of bending over because she knew it would hurt to much to bend with this mark on her back. She easily yanked a piece off the aloe tree and stood back up, taking one more glance over at the doors before going back to Jack and handing him the aloe._

"_Turn around.." he stated softly. He was surprised she was doing all of this with little to no objections. And he knelt down to break apart the aloe leaf before turning back and seeing that mark again. They were both silent at first as he placed his hand on her waist and brought the aloe to her back. He only stopped for a moment when he felt her fingertips graze the tips of his own._

_Juliet sucked the pain down, refusing to move or flinch as the aloe plant was put on her lower back. "Why did you help me?" she questioned quietly._

"_He told you he was gonna let you go home," he answered, glancing up at her for a moment. "He told me the same thing. We're gonna make sure he keeps his word."_

"_And how are we going to do that?" she questioned, slightly disbelief in her voice as she glanced back at him._

_Jack glanced up at her once more. "Together.." he replied, watching the slight uncertainty and surprise in her eyes. He was certain _that_ was what had caused her eyes to water just then, and not the pain, as she looked up at the sky._

**...End Flashback...**

Sawyer stared at the look the two shared and arched both eyebrows. They both looked slightly shocked. "You two alright?" he questioned.

Juliet self-consciously reached her hand back to her lower back for reassurance there was nothing there before nodding her head to Sawyer.

Jack coughed slightly, pushing the random hallucination to the back of his mind. "What did you need to tell me?"

"Those people," Juliet answered. "They have files on me, you, Kate and Sawyer," she stated.

Sawyer arched an eyebrow up. She had called him Sawyer to Jack, he could only assume that was because everyone else knew him as Sawyer and she was the only one calling him James.

Jack frowned slightly. "Files?" he questioned. "As in.."

"As in giant manila folders with our names on the tabs," Juliet stated, nodding her head. "They know who I am, what I do, that I'm married," she stated.

Jack wasn't sure what he was supposed to think at the moment with this news. "Do you think they'll come back?"

Juliet contemplated the question. It was the same question she had asked Sawyer just a few minutes ago. "I think.. that if they had our folders out specifically.. then there must be something they want from each of us."

Jack was silent.

"I think they'll come back.." Juliet replied honestly.

**()()TBC()()**

**I wanted to get more done but unfortunately I have school and then work tomorrow. :( I need to get some sleep. I'll try and get some work done on this next chapter and hopefully get it up in a few days. No guarantees for this week though. I don't have one day off between work and school.**


	9. Jin's English

**Author's Note**: So. You guys are getting this chapter because.. well. I'm an insomniac. And I've been laying in bed for nine hours now without falling asleep. Just laying. Thinking. All that fun stuff. But alas.. being an insomniac doesn't mean I can skip school and work.

And yes, this chapter was meant to amuse you. I just feel bad I'm not updating as fast and wanted to give you something. So in my sleep deprived state, you people got a bit of insanity. And no. It's not very long at all! Sorry. I'll probably update again with a nice long chapter tomorrow or Monday. After that it's work and school again until Saturday! Yippy..

**Fate's a Fickle Foe**:

'_Do you think they'll come back_?'

That was the question still plaguing Sawyer's mind even as he helped Michael build his little raft. Well, not exactly little. He gave the man some serious props. This thing wasn't _just_ a raft. The man practically built a damned boat. Technically, he'd agreed to help build it if Michael let him and Juliet on it. He _had_ asked her first, she'd said if it was alright with Michael then she would like to be on it.

He still couldn't figure out what it was about her that drove him to care. That drove him to want to help someone else other then himself. Yet, he couldn't lie about the fact that it was kind of nice caring about someone else. And caring about her almost felt like he'd been doing it for years.

It had been two weeks since Juliet returned from those other people. And although they still hadn't come back, there was no doubt in his mind that eventually they would unless they got rescued. He glanced over at Juliet who was currently playing with the baby Claire had the previous week while Claire napped. Aaron.

"You and Juliet... make baby?"

Sawyer froze for a second out of shock before looking at Jin. He nearly forgot the man was still grasping English. "No.. Jin, we didn't _make_ a baby."

Jin frowned.

"In case ya' forgot," Sawyer stated, pointing at his ring finger. "She's married."

Jin narrowed his eyes in confusion. He lifted his hand and pointed at the band on his finger. "Married?"

"Ya', like.. you and Sun, married."

Jin looked even more confused. "When.. when you and Juliet get.. married?"

Sawyer stared at him like he'd lost his marbles.

Sun had to clasp her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing.

"Well it ain't like he don't know you speak English anymore, woman," Sawyer stated, rolling his eyes. "Would ya' translate for the poor man?"

Sun chuckled and did so.

"Oh!" Jin stated, thinking about that. Now he seemed even more confused.

Sawyer arched both eyebrows listening to Jin mumble something to Sawyer. "Should I be afraid to know what he said?"

Sun smirked. "He said.. no one has seen Edmund in weeks, and likely is dead," she translated. "So doesn't that make Juliet.. single?"

Sawyer was stunned into silence.

"So, single, you should.." Jin stopped to think. "Should make baby, yes?"

"Whose going to.. make a baby?" Juliet questioned, walking over while wiggling Aaron around.

Sawyer groaned and slapped himself on the head.

"You and Sawyer," Jin answered. "You.. make baby."

The look of amusement that crossed Juliet's face was almost immediate. "Well.. I'm sure the baby would be adorable, but I think it's a little soon to go making babies."

Sun let out a laugh almost immediately while Sawyer just looked horrified.

Jin unfortunately didn't quite understand.

Juliet released a soft laugh before shaking her head.

"But.. you, love, yes?" Jin questioned, trying to make sense out of the two. They were inseparable the past few weeks.

Juliet had to bite down on her lower lip now. The look of utter terror that was on Sawyer's face nearly made her laugh even harder and after a second she couldn't hold it in any longer. She burst out laughing.

Sawyer arched both eyebrows in response. Before Claire had the baby Juliet had been quite and withdrawn into herself. But afterwards Juliet seemed to take on a completely different personality. But this. This laugh was new for her, but it was familiar all the same.

**...Flashback(1975)...**

"_Woman, has anyone ever told ya' that you laugh like a hyena on helium?" Sawyer questioned, breaking the silence between them at the breakfast table._

"_What?" Juliet questioned, staring at him in shock. "I do not, and you wouldn't know anyways," she stated. "You've never made me laugh hard."_

_Sawyer put a hand to his heart as though the statement had pained him. "Hey, just cause it wasn't _me_ who made you go all girl-gigglin', don't mean I ain't heard it Laffy Taffy," he pointed out. "Two days ago, when Miles tricked Jin into askin' you what yer' cup size was."_

_Juliet attempted to keep a straight face for a moment but she couldn't. She broke out into a grin almost immediately. "Okay, fair enough. But that definitely beat the time when you got him to ask me if I wear thongs and convinced him you were talking about sandals and not underwear."_

_Sawyer let out a laugh at the memory._

"_You guys are horrible," Juliet stated with a roll of her eyes. "I mean, thank God I'm not the one who doesn't speak English," she stated with a smirk. "Then you would make me the butt of whatever joke you were teaching me to say, because I would still be the only girl."_

_Sawyer grinned in response. "Yeah, I could just see you all asian and askin' me what yer' cup size is."_

"_Or if I wear a thong," Juliet pointed out before licking the milk off her spoon from the cereal._

"_Do you?" Sawyer questioned, waggling his eyebrows._

_Juliet gave him an innocent smile. "Well, I'll answer what I'm wearing right now if you tell me whether you wear boxers or briefs."_

_Sawyer didn't even hesitate. "Boxers."_

_Juliet smirked as she stood and walked to the sink with her bowl, purposely keeping her back to him. "I'm not wearing any underwear."_

_Sawyer choked on his cereal._

_**...End Flashback...**_

Sawyer watched as Juliet wandered back towards Claire who was finally waking up and he shook his head slightly. No underwear? That thought was forever going to be stuck in his head. But why the hell did he just imagine himself eating breakfast with her? It seemed real enough. But there was damn well no chance they'd been sitting in a house eating cereal.

He was just losing his mind. Though, it wasn't as though he didn't already _know_ what she looked like without underwear. He grinned at that thought.

"See?" Jin said, waving his hand emphatically. "Is love."

Sawyer rolled his eyes and turned back to the raft.

**()()TBC()()**

**Okay. Yes. This was just a chapter here to make you guys giggle. Hope it worked! If you don't see anything tomorrow night then you can feel free to nag me for that update. :)**


	10. The Raft

**Author's Note**: I know I promised this for either Sunday or Monday. But I kind of sort of set my kitchen on fire. Note to self: never cook again. Luckily for you guys, I'm staying with my sister and.. well. Her kids don't know the meaning of 'bed-time'. So I'm getting little to no sleep :( So it's a week late.. a fairly short. But hopefully you guys can get over that. Sorry again!

Anyways. This one is for **tia8206**. Because I adore her story 'No One Belongs Here More Than You'.

**Fate's a Fickle Foe**:

"_Jesus watches from the wall,_

_but his face is cold as stone,_

_and if he loves me as she tells me,_

_Why do I feel so all alone?"_

_**-Carrie(Stephen King)**_

Sawyer couldn't deny that bringing Juliet on the raft was probably smarter anyways. He was currently watching her attempt to teach Jin English, and it was definitely entertaining. "Jinbo, there's only three things a woman needs to hear my friend."

"Walt," Michael stated quickly with an eye roll. "Don't listen to this."

Juliet chuckled immediately.

Jin was readily awaiting Sawyer's words of wisdom.

"First, I'm sorry," Sawyer told him. "Now repeat."

Jin furrowed his eyebrows slightly. "I'm... so-rry.."

"Good!" Sawyer stated, nodding his head with approval. "The second is.. you were right. Repeat that. You were right."

"You.. were.. right?" Jin questioned, seeking approval.

Juliet shook her head slightly, a small smile on her face.

"Perfect!" Sawyer nodded. "The last is the MOST important," he assured the man. "Those pants don't make you look fat."

Jin stared at him in silence for a moment.

Juliet's face instantly morphed into amusement as she watched Jin take all this in.

Michael was grinning.

Jin looked at Juliet. "Those.. pants don't.. make you.. fart.."

Walt immediately started laughing, Sawyer looked a little horrified and Juliet covered her mouth to keep herself from laughing.

"I.. say wrong?" Jin questioned immediately.

Juliet smiled. "Actually, I liked your version better," she assured him, causing Sawyer, Walt and Michael all to laugh.

Jin didn't seem to understand but he seemed assured that he did okay anyways.

"Is that a boat?" Juliet questioned, pointing over at a light she saw in the distance.

Sawyer grinned over at the light. "Sure as hell looks like it.." he stated. "You got the flare gun Mike?"

Michael nodded.

"Well whatcha waitin' for Cap'n?" he questioned with a grin.

Juliet watched in silence as Michael shot off the flare gun with some hesitance. She had a bad feeling about this that she just couldn't shake.

"You guys look like you could use some help!" the man shouted as they pulled their boat up towards the raft.

Juliet found herself half-standing behind Sawyer before she could fully comprehend what she was doing. She did notice that he seemed aware of her nervousness and she also noticed the way he placed his arm in front of her ever-so-slightly in response.

"Relax.." he told her in a hushed whisper. "They're just fishermen.."

The man smiled. "Climb aboard!" he told them, helping Walt into the boat first. He glanced over, noticing Juliet as though for the first time. Originally they were just supposed to take the kid. But they had orders to get the woman if they saw her. This was probably a good opportunity to do so. "Come on, I'll help you over!" he told her, holding out his hand.

Juliet hesitated slightly, staring at his hand. She glanced at Sawyer who just smiled a little before she stepped forward and took the man's hand. It wasn't until she was this close that the familiarity set it. She'd seen him at the medical station. Immediately she started to pull her hand back but he'd already had a firm grip on it and he yanked her to him. "Let go!" she yelled. "James! Its those people!! The ones on the island!!" she yelled back immediately.

Sawyer was quick to yank out the gun from the marshal who had been on the plane, but before he even got the chance to fire a shot rang out.

"WALT!!" Michael yelled out.

Almost in unison Walt had called out to his dad and Juliet had screamed 'James' as she watched him fall back off the raft.

Juliet was attempting to free herself from the man's hold as the boat took off and when she did get free she couldn't force herself to jump off the boat and leave Walt alone with these people. Instead she moved towards Walt and the man holding him, just in time to see Walt get away and jump over the side. "WALT!" she screamed, moving to jump after him when a pair of arms grabbed her.

"Keep going!" one man called out quickly.

The other men looked at him.

"No!" Juliet growled out. "He's just a little kid!! You can't leave him out here!" she yelled out, trying to scramble back to the edge of the boat after Walt when another pair of arms grabbed her. "Walt!!"

Tom groaned. "Dammit, we came for the kid," he stated with a shake of his head. "Turn the damn boat around, let's find him before we all get our asses kicked," he ordered. "And someone stop this god damn woman."

Juliet had no idea where the surge of will came from, but she grabbed the hands of both men and flipped them over her shoulders into the water. And when a third man came at her while the last steered the boat to a stop she quickly flipped him over the side as well. The boat stopped moving and she saw the last man coming for her and all of this felt so instinctual to her, as though she'd done it all before today. But she couldn't stop him, instead she felt pain in the back of her head and everything went dark.

"Jesus," Tom muttered, spitting water out and pulling the other two men into the boat. One of whom was pulling in Walt who was kicking and trying to get away. "She's supposed to be fricken' timid, where'd she learn the kung-fu?"

"Who the hell cares right now?" another man questioned in return. "Let's just get the hell back before the bitch wakes up and goes G.I. Jane on us all over again," he growled out, shoving Walt into the corner where Juliet was laying unconscious.

~*~*~*~

Sawyer had barely managed to pull himself onto a piece of the raft that had broken off when he heard the boat heading back towards them. He clenched his teeth from the pain of salt water hitting the wound in his shoulder and watched as it stopped not too far off. That was when he noticed Walt in the water, heard Juliet, _saw_ Juliet flipping men off the boat like she was a pro. That was when he saw her turn to the last man only for one to climb back in a knock her out.

He made his attempts to paddle over to the boat but they weren't close enough as the men got Walt back into the boat and started back off, disappearing into the distance. He had vaguely made out them talking before the boat started up and they left. The pain seemed familiar and he found himself drifting slightly, Michael had clearly been trying to scramble for Walt as well but was now pulling him onto a larger part of the broken raft.

**()()TBC()()**

**So there's no guarantee's on swift updates these days. The only day I get off of work is the day I have dual classes. Not fun. Damned holiday season is busy :( But I'll try and post on friday.**


	11. Uncertainty

**Author's Note**: I know, it's been so long! But I didn't forget about this story, and hopefully none of you have either. So as long as you guys are still with me, then I'm still all about writing this story!

Honestly I have no real excuse for not updating for so long, just that I couldn't find my muse. So instead I've just been obsessively watching CSI. Yep. I'm an oddball.

**Fate's a Fickle Foe**:

_Help.._

_I have lost myself again,_

_Lost myself and I am nowhere to be found,_

_Yeah I think that I might break,_

_Lost myself again and I feel unsafe._

**-Sia**

Sawyer could hardly remember what had been happening lately. It all seemed fairly hazy as he tried to pull up recent events. He sat up, putting his hand up to his head and frowned. He took in his surroundings with even more confusion. He was locked up in a cage, what the hell was going on? There was no way in hell that crazy island had been a dream, so was he still there?

It took several moments for it all to come back to him. Plane crash, making friends, Juliet and Edmund.. Juliet taken twice, Walt, getting shot. Then those tail section people taking him, Jin and Michael hostage. Michael had turned on them.. they'd been kidnapped, the same people who had taken Juliet. "Sonuvabitch.." he growled out.

"HEY!" he yelled immediately, grasping the bars of his cage with both hands. He searched the area of somebody, anybody he could try to get answers from but instead he came up with nothing. There was absolutely no one around. He couldn't even come up with a rational idea or plan, so he did the only irrational thing he could think of. He kicked the cage as hard as he could and sat down.

And it wasn't until Kate was thrown into her cage a little while later that he saw one of the men who took Juliet. He was on his feet immediately. "You sonuvabitch! Where is she?!"

Tom turned around and stared at Sawyer. "You just watched us put her in a cage, Sawyer," he pointed out to the other man. "Maybe you're dehydrated, losing your mind."

Sawyer narrowed his eyes. "Yea' I see Kate," he growled out. "Where the hell is Juliet?" he asked immediately. "You're one of the guys from the boat, _you_ took her!"

Tom just looked at him in amusement now. "Don't get your panties in a bunch," he told the guy. "You'll see her soon enough."

"What does that mean?" Kate asked immediately. "What did you do to her?"

Tom rolled his eyes. "We haven't done anything to her, she's peachy," he stated before walking away with the other men.

"I wanna see her!" Sawyer yelled out before Tom was out of range. The man didn't turn around. "Dammit!"

Kate watched him with sympathy. She couldn't quite decide what to say that would even make him feel better at this point, so instead she kept her mouth shut.

**~*~*~**

"Stop that."

Jack froze immediately at the voice. He glanced over just in time to see Juliet pushing the door open to the room behind the glass and entering. "Juliet!" he stated immediately, getting down from the table and walking up to the glass. He waited for some sort of reaction, anything, to show across her face but instead there was nothing.

"Hello Jack.." Juliet stated, watching him carefully through the glass. She had been warned, not to give away anything to him about what they wanted.

Jack was silent for a moment. Not only was there no tell-tale signs of distress in her voice, there was nothing in her eyes either. "Are you okay?" he asked her, trying to catch a glimpse of something, anything. Something was definitely wrong. "What did they do to you?"

Juliet locked eyes with him immediately. "Nothing," she answered him.

Jack watched her with uncertainty now. There was absolutely no doubt in his mind that she was lying to him. She wasn't the same person she had been a month ago. He put his hand up to the glass between them. "What's going on?" he questioned.

Juliet found herself putting her hand up to his against the glass automatically. She opened her mouth to speak before she caught herself and remained silent.

He frowned now, staring directly into her eyes and they were no longer as empty as they were before. They were filled with fear, uncertainty.. worry. "What did they do to you?" he asked again, his voice coming out in more of a hushed whisper this time.

Juliet found her mouth opening once again, but she hesitated fairly quickly. She found her eyes looking everywhere except for at him before she dropped her hand from the glass. "I just need you to trust me, Jack.." she stated softly before turning and heading out of the room.

"Juliet!" Jack called out, watching her retreat from the room. "Juliet wait!"

Juliet paused at the door and glanced back at him. She gave him a brief smile before closing the door behind her. She halted immediately and stared directly at the blue eyes before her.

"For a moment I thought you were going to give it all away."'

Juliet remained silent in response.

"I think we've taught you a little too well," he stated, arching an eyebrow up. "Even I'm having difficulty reading your facial expressions, Juliet."

"Isn't that what you wanted, Ben?" Juliet questioned.

Ben smiled. "Touche," he responded before heading back into the monitoring room.

~*~*~

Sawyer sat in silence as he tried to figure out what to do. Sure, he could probably find a few different ways to escape, to get out. He admitted he'd been fishing for information when he'd asked about Juliet. But once the man had admitted that Juliet was here somewhere, that he would see her soon, he found he couldn't leave. Not without her.

"She's alright, Sawyer.." Kate told him, her voice gentle. "He wouldn't have admitted she was here if she wasn't okay.." and right now she wished she could believe that herself.

Sawyer glanced over at Kate. He would have voiced his disbelief in her statement had he not heard the doors opening and seen blonde hair heading in their direction. He was on his feet immediately, gripping the bars tightly. "Juliet.."

Kate watched in shock as the blonde froze in place between both hers and Sawyer's cages. She locked eyes with Juliet first before she turned and looked at Sawyer.

Juliet stared at Sawyer in stunned silence. She had known about Jack being here. No one had told her about Sawyer, or Kate. "James.." she whispered.

He frowned, taking in her appearance. Almost immediately he shot his hand out through the bars of the cage, reaching out towards her. "C'mere, blondie.." he told her, watching her carefully.

She studied him with a certain measure of uncertainty, her eyes trained on his hand just a few feet away. She slowly and carefully made her way over to him, her fingertips just barely grazing his.

"What are you doing?"

Juliet recoiled immediately and pulled her hand back. She stared as Danny came towards her. Truthfully, the man made her more then a little nervous. "Nothing," she assured him.

Danny eyed her suspiciously. "Richard wanted to speak to you."

Juliet was quiet now. If Danny made her nervous, being near Richard made her feel ten times worse. She felt as though she should know Richard, and yet she couldn't place _where_ she should have known him from. "Where?"

"Out on the peak," Danny told her.

Sawyer watched the exchange with worry. What the hell was going on? Juliet wasn't one of _them_. She wasn't an _other_. She was with him, she was a survivor. "Juliet," he stated, attempting to grab her attention.

"Very well.." she responded before turning, barely locking eyes with Sawyer before she headed off towards the peak. "See you later, James.. Kate. "

Sawyer stared in shock as she walked away. That was _not_ the Juliet he knew. It was most definitely _not_ the Juliet that had allowed her husband to get away with everything, that had delivered Claire's baby, or that laughed at Jin's English mistakes. What he had just seen in her eyes in that brief moment of her leaving was absolutely nothing. Her eyes were filled with a void, an emptiness.

"I'd keep your hands to yourself," Danny suggested. "She'll boggle your mind if ya try and figure her out."

Sawyer stared at him. "What the hell did you people do to her?"

Danny smirked. "What makes you think she hasn't always been like that?" he asked him. "Maybe she's just one hell of an actress."

Kate watched in utter disbelief as the man walked off.

Sawyer just remained silent now. No way in hell was he gonna believe that.

~*~*~

"Richard.."

Richard turned and studied the blonde coming towards him. "Juliet," he replied. "Thank you for coming."

Juliet nodded slightly before sitting down on the ledge of the cliff, staring across the two mile stretch of ocean at the island she'd originally crash landed on. "I'm not sure I understand what you want from me, what any of you want from me."

"Sure you do, Juliet," Richard assured her, glancing down at her. "I'm fairly certain you know exactly what Ben wants."

Juliet was silent for a moment. "Yes, _that_, I do understand," she pointed out. "He's the only one whose made it clear what he wants from me."

Richard couldn't help but smile now. "Fair enough," he replied. "What would you like to know?"

"I'm positive you didn't ask me to come out here so that you could answer all my questions," Juliet stated, eying him warily.

"On the contrary," Richard told her. "That's exactly why I asked you here."

Juliet dared to glance up at him. His face was the epitome of mystery. She wasn't sure if he was lying or telling the truth. "Let's say I believe you, then who _are_ you people?"

Richard chuckled. "Disciples of Jacob."

Juliet narrowed her eyes. "It's always Jacob this.. Jacob that, I've never seen any Jacob. Who is he?" she questioned immediately.

"Jacob is our leader," he explained carefully. "We follow his orders."

Juliet arched an eyebrow inquisitively. "I thought Ben was your leader."

Richard smiled now. "You were mistaken."

"What do you want from me?" Juliet questioned next. She eyed him curiously now.

"It's not what I want from you," Richard assured her. "It's what Jacob wants."

Juliet stared up at him momentarily, watching as he took a seat beside her now. "Alright then, let's say I believe you.. again.. about this Jacob," she stated, locking eyes with his brown ones. "Then what does _Jacob_, want from me?"

Richard couldn't help but smile at her antics. He couldn't deny that he enjoyed how refreshing it was to have someone so open, so.. untrusting. He never thought he'd be thankful for that. "He wants you to save him."

**()()TBC()()**

**Well, I hope you guys enjoyed that chapter! I spent HOURS trying to get my head around it. Hopefully I succeeded. I'll know by whether or not you guys like it. I know I did skip quite a bit of time. But since I was a little lost(lost in Lost.. haha), I figured it was easier to skip through some time then just sit and pray for something to come to me. LOL.**

**Don't worry. I have time on my hands to continue writing now :)**

**-Sarah**


	12. Trust

**Author's Note**: I can see a few people were confused with the last chapter. Like I said, I moved the timeline along, and if you didn't notice, it was by about one month. Don't worry, you're not going to remain clueless about Juliet's time with the others for that period of one month! The joy of flashbacks!

Which reminds me..

Everyone should be reading No One Belongs Here More Than You by **tia8206**, why? Because it's FANTASTIC! This chapter's for you Tia!

**Fate's a Fickle Foe**:

_Monster, how should I feel?_

_Creatures lie here, looking through the window._

_That night he caged her,_

_Bruised and broke her.._

_He struggled closer, then he stole her._

_**-**_**Meg & Dia**

"Jules."

Juliet glanced back from the spot on the ledge she'd been sitting on beside Richard. She locked eyes with Edmund, and to her enjoyment, he seemed briefly disconcerted by her spending time with the enigma that was Richard.

"Ben wants to talk to you," Edmund told her, watching her carefully.

Juliet continued the staring contest they had going on currently. She admitted the fact that he squirmed and looked away first made her a feel a hell of a lot better about things. Now she finally glanced beside her at Richard.

"She'll be there momentarily," Richard assured Edmund.

Both Richard and Juliet glanced back after a moment and noticed Edmund hadn't moved.

"I can wait here for my wife," Edmund stated, eying the two warily. He didn't like the new Juliet.

Richard narrowed his eyes. "I said she would be there momentarily."

Juliet had to bite back a smile.

"Fine," Edmund huffed out, heading back.

Juliet arched her eyebrows up at Richard. "Was there a reason for that?"

Richard smiled now. "Just wait two minutes and then go back. I enjoy making that man squirm."

Juliet felt the corners of her mouth twitching upwards into a smile almost immediately. Enigmatic or not, even if she _did_ find Richard to be slightly nerve-wracking, she couldn't help but appreciate him more then a little bit now. Not even seconds passed, and she'd remained silent for a while since her last question, but she couldn't help the next one. She had two minutes after all. "Richard.."

"Yes?" he questioned, staring forward.

Juliet opened her mouth, but paused to think about what she was going to ask. "I'm not sure yet if I believe anything you've told me," she admitted honestly.

Richard chuckled. "Well, I can't say that I blame you."

"But if it turns out its all true, that what you said to me.. is true," she stated, her voice filled with distrust. "How can I save someone when I don't even know who they are, what they look like?"

Richard found himself glancing over at her immediately. He got the inkling that she _did_ in fact believe him. If she didn't, she wouldn't be asking all these questions about it. "You'll know him when you find him."

Blue eyes studied him incredulously now.

"Come," Richard stated, taking her hand in his. "Obviously Ben wants something, I'd better take you back."

Juliet narrowed her eyes now. "I made it here on my own, I can make it back just as easily."

He smirked. Yes, her attitude was definitely a refreshing change of pace. "That's not the reason I'm going back with you," he assured her.

Juliet allowed him to lead her back. She stared down at their hands, and suddenly she didn't find Richard only _slightly _nerve-wracking anymore. She found him to be completely and utterly nerve-wracking to the point where she was _positive_ her distress was evident in her eyes, on her face.

It wasn't too long later and he was leading her passed the cages. She ignored the way Sawyer and Kate were immediately on their feet watching.

"Juliet!" Sawyer called out, noticing the completely frazzled look on her face. "Hey, what're you doin' to her?!"

Richard turned and glanced at Sawyer, arching an eyebrow up immediately. He glanced at Juliet, as though he only just now noticed the strange look on her face. He forgot at times how nervous he made people. He leaned forward, his hand moving to her back and his lips hovering just next to her ear, nearly touching it.

Juliet froze instantly feeling Richard's hot breath on her ear, breathing down her neck. But it wasn't that that made her freeze completely. It was the words that came from his lips. Within a moment her eyes were drawn to Sawyer's, and she didn't even notice that Richard had left.

"Juliet?" Sawyer questioned. The look on her face was one of complete horror, he'd never seen anything like it before. "What'd he say?" he questioned, wishing the blonde would just come over to him. "Juliet, what'd he say to you?"

"Jules."

Juliet didn't budge, didn't take her eyes off of Sawyer.

"Julie," Edmund tried again, coming up beside her. He noticed the look of horror on her face and arched an eyebrow. She still wasn't answering. He rolled his eyes.

"HEY!" Sawyer yelled immediately, watching Edmund's hand rise up in the air. Too late. The sound of his palm against Juliet's cheek was loud and Sawyer was almost certain it had echoed.

Juliet immediately locked eyes with Edmund.

"You sonuvabitch!" Sawyer growled out, gripping the bars on the cage. He would have strangled the man if he could have.

Edmund raised an eyebrow up at her. "Are you coming?" he questioned. When he got no reply he immediately raised his hand again.

Kate, Sawyer and Edmund all stared in shock as Juliet caught his wrist just before it made contact with her cheek for the second time.

"I heard you," she told him, her voice dripping with venom.

Edmund narrowed his eyes and gripped her hand tightly, forcing her to let go of his wrist. "You little--"

"Don't make me shoot you Ed, you insufferable buffoon. I believe I told you to keep your hands off of her."

All eyes immediately went to the door of the Hydra and locked onto Benjamin Linus and Juliet wished she could have felt some sort of sense of relief that someone who could do something was going to defend her, but she couldn't. Because being near Ben Linus only made her feel sick and uneasy.

**...FLASHBACK(28 days ago)...**

"_She refuses to help, Ben," Richard admitted. "She's made friends with those survivors, and with a husband like.. Ed.." he paused briefly, glancing at Edmund. "She has no reason to trust him or any of us."_

"_I resent that," Edmund stated, smirking._

_Ben raised both eyebrows up at the men before glancing at Edmund. "A husband like what?" he questioned. "What kind of husband were you, Edmund?"_

_Silence from Edmund._

_Ben shot the questioning glance at Richard now. "He seems to enjoy slapping her."_

_There was silence from all three men at the table now._

"_Your job was to get her to the island, not to marry her and beat her into submission," Ben stated, his voice eerily calm. _

_Edmund smirked again. "We agreed that there was hardly any chance of getting her onto the plane at that exact time unless I managed to get her into a relationship," he pointed out. "And she wanted to leave me, that was how I got her to stay."_

_Ben said nothing at first. "You should stay very much aware, that on this island.. Juliet Burke is not yours," he told the man. "She's mine."_

_Richard bit back a comment where he wished to state otherwise. It probably wouldn't settle well with the two men if he told them she belonged to the island, not to an individual. It was best to let Ben believe what he wanted for now._

_Edmund said nothing once more._

"_I have a plan."_

_Both men looked to Ben._

"_Brainwash her."_

_Richard couldn't believe the suggestion had even been made."You're kidding, right?"_

_Ben locked eyes with him. "Do I appear to be joking?" he questioned. "I'll take care of it."_

_Both men watched as Ben left the room._

_~*~*~_

"_Good to see you again, Juliet."_

_Juliet immediately stared at the man on the other side of the glass. "Where is Walt?" she questioned quickly. "What do you people gain from kidnapping me and a child?"_

"_So many questions," Ben replied with a small smile. "You'll know the answers soon enough, I promise."_

_Juliet stared at him, unconvinced._

_Ben arched an eyebrow up at her. "So I've been told you don't wish to help us."_

"_They're good people," Juliet told him. "I'm not helping you kidnap and trick them," she stated. "You can't make me."_

_Ben felt his smile growing. "On the contrary, I'm more then positive that I _can_ make you," he assured her. He put his walkie up to his lips. "Danny, Tom.. come get Doctor Burke," he stated. "Make sure she'll be comfortable in her new living arrangements for the next three and a half weeks."_

_Juliet couldn't help the fear the welled up within her. "New living arrangements?" she questioned quickly. "What are you talking about?"_

"_You'll be on our side soon enough, dear Juliet.." he told her. "Just like you were meant to be, and those people will mean nothing to you soon. Until then, I'll be leaving to meet these so-called 'good people'."_

_Juliet would have replied, but the door opened and before she fully turned around to grasp what was happening there was a bag over her head and there was pain._

"_Take her to the facility.. I'm leaving for our island first thing in the morning.." was the last thing she really heard before she finally drifted into the darkness that consumed her._

_**...**_**End Flashback****...**

Edmund let go of her hand and backed off, keeping his eyes on Ben now.

Sawyer stared at him as well. Henry Gale, Ben.. whoever the man really was. What the hell did these people want with them? And what the hell had they done to Juliet? And what in the world did that man with the eye-liner say to scare Juliet so damned much? He couldn't have had more questions any other time of his life then he did in this moment.

It was only a moment later when Sawyer noticed Ben was staring straight at him. He also noticed Juliet's panicked look as she glanced between himself and Ben. He felt his eyebrows arch automatically when Juliet went to Ben and placed a hand casually on his arm.

"You wanted to talk to me?" she questioned, her tone was light, casual. She made certain that her eyes reflected nothing once again.

Ben locked eyes with her and frowned for a moment before nodding. "Yes of course," he stated. "Come with me."

Sawyer narrowed his eyes immediately and watched as Ben and Juliet disappeared inside the Hydra. Apparently Edmund had decided to make himself scarce somewhere between the staring contest, because he was already gone.

"What the hell was that?" Kate questioned, staring at Sawyer now. "Who are these people and who the hell's side is Juliet on?" she asked immediately.

Sawyer found himself asking himself the same questions now. "I ain't got no idea, Freckles," he admitted, taking a seat out of frustration.

~*~*~

A little while later Juliet found herself carrying a tray with food and water on it into the room connected to Jack's. She glanced at him through the glass. "Hey Jack.."

Jack studied her with uncertainty, there was a guard beside her.

"You're probably dehydrated.." she pointed out. "I thought you could use some water.. and some food."

Jack was silent for a moment.

"If you sit in that corner over there with your back against the wall, I can open the door and leave the tray.." she explained.

Jack frowned immediately. Was Juliet one of the Others? "Why are you doing this?" he asked her immediately, stepping up to the glass. Then again, if she was one of them, why would she be followed by an armed escort?

She allowed her eyes to soften somewhat as she stepped closer to the glass and to him. "I know it feels like your giving up if you do what I ask, Jack.." she stated calmly. "But you're _not_.. you _need_ to eat," she told him. "And all you have to do is sit, with your back against the wall.. I'll come in, put the tray down and leave."

Jack studied her face. What happened to her? What had these people done to change this woman so much in a matter of 30 days?

"You can trust me, Jack.." she told him softly, their eyes locking instantly.

"_I just need you to trust me, Jack.."_

That was what she'd said to him the previous time she'd been on the other side of the glass. He didn't know why he felt like he should and shouldn't trust her all at the same time but that was exactly what came to mind. Yes, he trusted who she'd been. But did he trust who they've made her become in this last month? He wasn't sure yet. But something inside of him was itching to say yes.

So instead he said nothing. He simply turned his back on her.

"Jack.." she whispered.

And he went to the corner of the room, turned to face the door, and squatted down.

Juliet wasn't sure what to think when he did so. He wasn't looking at her, he was just staring off into nowhere. "Thank you, Jack.."

**...Flashback...**

_Jack watched the door, waiting for her to come in. He was ready for her. He wasn't the kind of man the condoned what he was about to do. But she had no qualms with hurting him, he would just have to do it for survival. And as soon as the door opened he was on his feet, rushing her._

_Juliet let out a bit of a groan of pain immediately out of shock when she felt her arm twisted behind her back and she was pushed down on the table. She quickly made the attempt to reach for the tazer but failed as Jack knocked it away from her. And she struggled, as best as she could with a man holding her down, at least until she felt him reach and grab something, and she felt that something sharply against her neck._

_Jack had to ignore the slight shriek of surprise that came from the blonde he was holding hostage with a broken shard of plate. "Which way out?" he questioned quickly after he pulled them both into a standing position._

"_Don't do this, Jack.." she pleaded. He breathing was heavy as she was dragged along in the weirdest possible position. She couldn't help it though. She was leaning as far back into him as she could with that broken plate at her neck. One slip and he would kill her without really meaning to. That worried her._

_She couldn't help but flinch with the way he was jerking her around with him, searching for a way out. And it wasn't until her turned her a little too abruptly that she let out a slight choking noise from the plate digging further in. Not even a second later and her face came in front of _the_ door. She immediately put her hands up in a defensive gesture. "No no!" she gasped out quickly, his hand having a tight hold on her hair while the other kept the plate to her neck._

"_Open.. the door," Jack ordered her, ignoring the fear radiating off the woman. This was probably something he was going to hate himself for doing for the rest of his life. He wasn't sure he'd ever put a woman in so much distress before in his life. The look on her face was almost haunting._

"_I can't, I can't Jack," she told him in a rush. "I do that we die!" she exclaimed, ignoring the way her shirt was falling past her should and revealing her tank top. She simply kept her hands up defensively._

"_You're lying," he stated as a face, getting just a little angry now in the adrenaline rush._

"_I'm not, I'm not!" she tried to assure him, unable to help the fear and raw emotion that had entered her voice._

"_Open the door!!" Jack yelled, his voice seething with the anger now._

"_I CAN'T! I swear I can't--" she began screaming back until she was cut off._

"_She's telling the truth, Jack!"_

_Jack turned around immediately, pulling her body up against his to keep her blocking his body. He had to try his best not to react to the whimper and grunt she let out in response._

_Juliet felt the tip of the plate shard get held just a little bit tighter and she was afraid that even breathing at this point would slice her throat open._

"_I swear to God," Jack began, knowing he was near telling the truth at this point regardless of how he felt about it. "I will kill her.."_

_Juliet nearly felt her heart drop out of her chest. From the way he said it, she almost believed he really would do it.. and so she stared at Ben, who wouldn't look her in the eyes, only Jack._

"_Okay.." Ben stated, watching in slight fascination._

_Juliet felt her mouth drop open in response. Had he honestly just sentenced her to death? She could tell Jack was equally as stunned, because he'd loosened his grip on her, letting off the pressure from the plate to her neck ever-so-slightly._

_Jack was too shocked to say anything. He wasn't even sure he could think straight._

"_Have her open the door and she dies anyways," Ben explained casually. "We all do."_

_Jack kept his eyes on the man in an eerie fashion. What kind of man simply said 'okay'? What kind of man would just let a woman die? And suddenly he had even worse thoughts about himself. What kind of man was he for even doing that to her?_

_Juliet couldn't seem to close her mouth from the shock. She couldn't expel the fear. Ben wasn't going to let Jack go to save her life. And she briefly wondered if this was the end. She was momentarily stunned when the plate was gone from her throat and she hit the wall, and she put her hands out quickly to stop herself from going face-first into it. She only gave one brief daring glance back at Jack as he turned and began turning the wheel to open the door and within seconds she was running back towards Ben, towards safety._

_For a moment she saw Ben looking towards her. And there was a look in his eyes she couldn't quite explain. But she knew what it was the moment he went back into his little room and locked her out just before she could get inside. She banged her fists on the door once out of anger before she turned and stared out of fear. _This_ was definitely going to be the end. And the water rushed in._

_It was all a blur as she managed to get herself into the room connecting to Jack's and held on. She searched for a moment, watching Jack try to surface and find safety. "JACK!" she called out, reaching her arm out. "Over here!!"_

_Jack heard his name, saw her arm reaching for him. He didn't dare question why she would dare try to save him after what he'd just put her through, instead he grabbed hold of her hand and let her pull him inside the room she was always hiding in. The room she used to talk to him as she hid behind the glass. He supposed he understood why she kept that barrier between them now._

_It seemed like an eternity with the water rushing in before they got the door closed. And the next thing he knew she was yelling something to him. _

"_The button!" she yelled quickly, the stress evident in her voice._

"_What?!" he yelled back._

"_The old button! The button!" she growled out at him, pointing towards the giant red button behind them on the wall. She watched as he waded quickly through the water and pushed the button in. And just as he was turning back to her she reeled her arm back and socked him straight in the jaw as hard as she could. She wasn't sure she'd ever knocked someone out in one hit before, but it's amazing what you can do once the person's threatened to slice open your jugular with a broken plate.._

**...End Flashback...**

Jack watched the door with an all new keen sense of awareness. And as soon as it was opening he was on his feet, rushing towards it.

**()()TBC()()**

**That was probably mean, wasn't it? At least I was feeling nice enough to give you an extra long chapter! Even though it involved two flashbacks.. beggars can't be choosers people! Haha. In case you didn't get what facility Ben had Juliet taken to during the first flashback.. do you guys remember poor Karl's brainwashing experience? Yes that's right.. that's the 'facility' Ben mentioned. :)**

**More soon!**

**-Sarah**


	13. Lies and Deceit

**Author's Note**: I'm on a roll with this story. Hope you guys can keep up! 'bout time my plot bunny got itself back on track! Everyone give it a carrot and maybe he'll stay this time! Haha.

This chapter's for **Mad Steph**, who jokingly said.. 'I know why I haven't been writing all through January, but where have you been?'. That's probably what got my creative juices flowing! Go Steph! You and your not-really-a-pep-talk-but-I'll-take-it-as-one-anyways!

**Fate's A Fickle Foe**:

_It's been one of those days for too many days now,_

_I did a thing I didn't want to do again.._

**-Superchick**

Juliet was in shock. She watched her armed escort open the door and she watched as he was rammed into full-force by Jack. She wasn't entirely sure what to do if she was being completely honest, and she stood in stunned silence.

"Gimme the tray," Jack said quickly.

Juliet stared at him with uncertainty but she handed him the tray as he asked. She watched in confusion as he dumped the contents of the tray onto the ground. And she couldn't help the way she flinched when he raised it over his head. She covered her eyes and heard the impact.

Jack tossed the tray aside after knocking the guard out and threw him in his room, shutting the door and locking it. He had seen Juliet flinch when he'd raised the tray up and he felt bad about it. Had she honestly thought he was about to hit her? "Hey.." he said softly, peeling her hands from in front of her eyes. "Which way is out?" he questioned.

She was surprised to say the least. She kept completely silent, unsure what to do or say to him. Was this her chance to escape, really? She wasn't so sure.

"Juliet!" he said a little louder, shaking her shoulders to get her attention. "Hey, come on," he stated. "We need to get out of here."

Juliet only hesitated for another second before she took his hand and ran for one of the doors.

Jack was surprised by her sudden actions, not that he minded. He followed her through the halls.

"HEY!"

Juliet turned immediately at the sound of Edmund's voice.

"Where do you think you're going to run away to, Julie?" Edmund asked out of amusement. "I guess that facility didn't help enough," he stated, shaking his head. "We're just going to have to try again."

Juliet narrowed her eyes. "Tell Ben this is where he can shove his _facility_," she growled out, remembering the place well. She whipped the tazer out from behind her back and quickly shocked him.

Jack almost recoiled himself watching Edmund go down. "Holy shit.." he muttered. He grabbed her arm as she put away the tazer and pulled her through the next door with him, which happened to be the last door. "We need to hurry.."

"Jack.." Juliet said, quickly getting his attention.

Jack glanced at her and noticed her hand. She was pointing at two cages, to his left was Kate and to the right was Sawyer. "Damn it, you try to open Sawyer's," he told her.

Juliet nodded slightly, running over to Sawyer's cage as Jack went to Kate's.

"Jesus, blondie.." Sawyer muttered. He watched as she grasped a rock and hit the lock. "You gotta have balls of steel, breakin' the doc outta there like that.." he stated out of surprise.

Juliet dared to glance up at him. "He broke himself out.." she mumbled, not willing to take credit for it. She was getting frustrated with the lock now. It was refusing to break. She looked over at Jack and noticed he was having as much trouble as she was.

She stopped, suddenly mortified. Why hadn't the alarms ever gone off to warn people of a break-out?

"This is _very_ a bad idea, Juliet.." came Ben's voice.

"Run, Juliet!" Sawyer told her quickly.

Juliet looked at Sawyer and shook her head.

"Jack dammit, get her outta here before the whole damn army arrives!" Sawyer growled out.

Ben watched as Jack grabbed Juliet's hand. "This is going to have consequences, Juliet.." he pointed out, arching an eyebrow. "I'm going to have to suggest you come to me right now if you don't wish for me to simply kill Austen and Ford."

Both Jack and Juliet froze immediately.

"Don't listen to him!" Kate yelled out.

"Just go!" Sawyer shouted after her.

"Juliet, come on.." Jack whispered, tugging her hand.

Juliet shook her head quickly. "I can't.."

"Juliet.." Tom said carefully, coming towards her and Jack from the side.

"Come back here, Juliet," Ben stated casually.

"Juliet, no!" Kate shouted.

"Don't do it, Juliet!" Sawyer growled out.

"Juliet, come on!" Jack ushered.

Ben sighed, watching as Juliet stood stock-still in complete confusion. Drastic times called for drastic measures. "Juliet.." he called out and watched as she locked eyes with him. "God loves you as He loved Jacob."

Juliet put her hand to her head, immediately feeling everything spinning. She felt like it lasted forever, until she felt herself falling, and suddenly everything went dark for her.

Jack was stunned as Juliet began teetering and he was quick to catch her before she fell. It didn't seem to help though. She was passed out. "What the hell was that?!" he yelled immediately, staring at the men coming towards him.

Sawyer had his hands on the bars of his cage immediately. "What the hell did you assholes do to her?!"

"Tom, Danny.." Ben called out. "Take Juliet back to Room 23.." he ordered them.

Tom frowned in response. "Ben.. she was already there for three weeks," he told him. "That's longer then anyone else has ever spent there."

Ben arched an eyebrow up. "Obviously she needs another day or two."

"What the hell is Room 23?" Jack questioned immediately after he was grabbed. The struggle was useless as Tom and Danny were dragging Juliet away.

Ben just smiled now. "How about I show you Jack?" he asked the man. This was the opportunity of a lifetime. Show Jack the room, Juliet.. he was certain that would get the surgeon's attention.

Sawyer sat in a stunned disbelief. What the hell had these people done to Juliet in that 'room'? "What did you do to her?" he growled out in frustration for what he felt was the millionth time. He wanted an answer. What _could_ they have done to change her from the timid woman she was a month ago to what he'd seen in the passed twenty-four hours?

Ben chuckled as he walked up to the cage and looked at Sawyer. "Let's just say.. she was like a house with some faulty wiring," he stated. "I rewired her."

"What the hell does that mean?" Sawyer questioned immediately. "HEY!" he yelled, watching Ben walk off and having two other men drag Jack ahead of him. "I'm gonna kill you, you sonuvabitch!" he growled out, watching them disappear into the distance.

Kate locked eyes with Sawyer, watching as the anger slowly dissipated into defeat now that they're was no one left for him to lash out at. "What do you think he meant.. that he 'rewired' her?" she questioned softly.

"Ain't got a damned clue.." he huffed out, leaning his forehead against the bars of the cage. "Ain't no god-damned way he meant what I think he was sayin'.." he muttered.

Kate narrowed her eyes slightly. "What do you think he meant?" she asked a second time.

Sawyer finally dared to look over at Kate and lock eyes with her green ones.

"They call it the Brain Drain.."

Both Sawyer and Kate looked at the teenager that came out of the jungle.

"The brain drain?" Kate asked, finally breaking the silence.

Alex nodded. "Honestly.. I never heard of it until I listened to Danny and Tom talking about it," she told them. "I never knew what they used that building for.."

Kate flicked a glance over at Sawyer but he was just staring at the ground. "What do they do in the.. brain drain?" she questioned next. She didn't care who the girl was if she was going to answer her questions.

"I don't know _exactly_," she admitted. "I only know what Danny and Tom were talking about.." she explained. "Ben had told them to keep her in there for three and a half weeks.."

Sawyer glanced up now. Juliet had spent her entire time with these people in one room? In a 'brain drain'?

Alex frowned now. "They were saying that no one's ever been in there for more than a few days," she finally explained. "All I know is when she came out of there after three weeks.. she couldn't hold down any solid food for a few days.. her stomach still doesn't handle it well."

Sawyer looked up in an instant at that point. "Why'd they let her out early?" he questioned.

Alex fixed him a look. "What?"

"Ya' said she came out after three weeks, but Ben wanted her there for three and a half," Sawyer pointed out. "Why'd she get out early, good behavior?"

Alex sighed. "Richard ordered them to let her out."

"Whose--" they were cut off by the door opening and Alex went running back the way she came. Both Kate and Sawyer stared at the man that had given Juliet that look of horror earlier that day.

"Hey you!" Sawyer growled out, gripping the bars again. He watched as the guy looked over at him. "Yea'.. you with the eye-liner, buddy," he stated. "What the hell they doin' to Juliet in Room 23?"

Richard eyed him up for a moment. He narrowed his eyes slightly at him. "And what do you know about Room 23?" he questioned.

Sawyer was just getting more frustrated now. "Your little buddies said they're taken' her back there," he stated. "What the hell is the brain drain, what're they doin' dammit?!" he asked him angrily. He only got more angry as the man walked off quickly, looking slightly alarmed. "HEY!" he kicked the cage immediate. "What the _hell_ is goin' on in this place?"

~*~*~

Jack frowned as he was dragged forward after Juliet. "How did you do it?" he called back to Ben.

"Excuse me?" Ben questioned. Stepping up his pace to walk side by side with the men dragging Jack along.

"How did you cause her to lose consciousness?" Jack asked him. "One of the words in that sentence? The whole sentence?" he asked quickly, staring at the man.

"Well done, Jack," Ben said with a smile. "I'm surprised you figured that out so quickly," he admitted. He grinned as they came up to the facility. "Watch and learn, Jack.. watch and learn."

Jack frowned once more.

"Let me go!"

Jack stared forward as Juliet began struggling against the two men Ben had called Danny and Tom. Obviously the blonde had woken up he immediately he felt guilty. If he hadn't tried to escape then this wouldn't have been happening to her.

"I think it's time you started cooperating a little better, Jack," Ben pointed out to him. "We're about to show you the consequences for disobeying."

"No!" Juliet cried out, trying to pull away from the two men.

Jack was worried almost instantly as he was dragged into the room marked '23' right behind Juliet. He watched as she was trying to fight off Danny and Tom as they strapped her into the chair. "This wasn't her fault," he said quickly, watching as a man came in with a needle. The look of horror on Juliet's face was like a sucker punch to him. "What do you want?" he asked quickly as the man was prepping the needle.

"Don't," Juliet pleaded.

"What do you want?!" Jack asked quickly. "Tell me what you want from me!"

Ben held up a hand, causing the man with the needle to pause right before he injected Juliet.

Jack found himself staring directly into Juliet's blue eyes. They were huge and he could only assume it was because unlike him, she _did_ know what they were about to do to her. And her eyes were pleading with him to make them stop. It was no wonder she had been doing what they told her to. They had struck fear into her like nothing he'd ever seen.

"I'll let you know, Jack," Ben told him with a ghost of a smile. "Until then, Juliet will be right here in this chair.. and just know that you're the one who put her here."

"Leave her alone, dammit!" Jack growled out, struggling with the men dragging him out of the room.

Ben looked directly at him, grabbing the needle from the man before Juliet.

"No!" Juliet screeched out. "Ben, no! Please, I'll listen, I swear, I'll listen!" she pleaded immediately.

"We'll talk later, Jack," he stated, bringing the needle down as the door was shut in Jack's face.

"NO!" Jack yelled out. The last thing he heard was Juliet's scream. And it was something that was going to haunt him for the rest of his life. "JULIET!"

~*~*~

_Two days later.._

Jack looked up as someone banged on the door. He tried his best not to get frustrated with himself as he sat in the corner with his back to the wall. He glanced down for a moment. When he looked up he was shocked to see Juliet placing the tray of food down on the table. No armed escort, nothing, just her. "Juliet.."

Juliet turned after putting the tray on the table and started heading back to the door.

"Juliet, wait.." Jack stated, getting up and reaching out, taking her hand. "Are you... are you alright?"

Juliet turned, staring directly into Jack's eyes.

Jack nearly flinched. Her face was a blank slate. Her eyes were hollow, empty. "Juliet.."

She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it quickly, pursing her lips.

Jack stared at her. Her screams as he'd been dragged off still haunted him. He couldn't close his eyes without hearing them. "Juliet.. please," he stated, giving her hand a squeeze. "Tell me what I can do to help you.." and as soon as the words left his lips he saw something flash across her face that he wasn't sure how to explain. He was fairly certain it looked like guilt but it was gone in seconds and suddenly he wasn't sure it had ever been there to begin with.

Juliet frowned now. She'd been told not to speak to him, not to say a word. Just put the tray down and walk out. But she didn't have the heart to do it to him. Instead she reached the hand up that he wasn't holding and let the tips of her fingers rest on his cheek. "You can't help me, Jack.." she told him softly.

"I can, Juliet.." Jack assured her. "Ben said there was something he wanted me to do for him. If I do it, he'll let us go.." he explained, searching her eyes, hoping he'd find something. There was no spark in her eyes at his words. No glimmer of hope.

"And you.. believe him?" she asked carefully.

"My.. my.. my.."

Juliet turned instantly, removing her hand from Jack's face and pulling her hand from his.

"You are.. by far, the worst wife a man could ask for," Edmund stated, shaking his head. "Do you _ever_ listen, Julie?"

Juliet watched him with uncertainty. This wasn't supposed to happen. Edmund was supposed to be back on the main island. He'd been becoming a 'loose-canon' as Richard deemed it, when it came to her. This was _not_ part of the plan.

**...Flashback(2 days ago)...**

_Not too long after Jack had left the room and Ben found himself smirking as Richard stormed into the very same room. It wasn't often he saw anger on the man's face, but he was almost positive that's what he was seeing right now._

"_You're taking this too far, Benjamin," Richard warned him. "We're supposed to discuss these things, you can't just take the woman and put her back under---"_

"_Hello Richard."_

_Richard turned, stunned. He stared at Juliet who was standing against the wall with her arms folded over her chest. "You tricked them.."_

_Ben couldn't help but chuckle. "She was very convincing," he replied with a shrug. "If I hadn't known it was a trick, even I would have believed her."_

_Richard arched an eyebrow up._

"_I'm almost positive Danny and Tom are a little mortified by the incident," Ben admitted with a glint of satisfaction._

_Richard sighed, shaking his head slightly in response. "I believe it would be best if we kept me informed from now on, Ben," he told the man. "You should go now, Juliet."_

_Ben watched as she looked to him for the approval. "Yes, you'll spend the next two days in the sleeping quarters down the hall, Juliet," he told her. "By the way, well done. I'm impressed."_

_Juliet was silent for a moment. "Thank you, Ben.." she stated coldly before exiting the room and going down the hall._

_Richard made sure she was out of sight before he shut the door and turned to Ben. "This is wrong."_

_Ben quirked an eyebrow up in response. "Getting a conscience on me now, Richard?" he asked out of amusement._

"_You had no right to lie to her about her sister's health and make a fake promise to cure her," Richard warned him. "This was not Jacob's will."_

_Ben narrowed his eyes. "Jacob wants her on his side, does he not?"_

_Richard sighed._

"_Then I'm afraid lying was my only option, otherwise she would not be cooperating," Ben stated simply. "The plan is to have her go 'bond' with Shepard after this," he explained to him. "Then Shepard will do my surgery."_

_Richard studied him with a look on curiosity. "And you believe that them 'bonding' will convince him to do the surgery?" he asked._

"_It will if he wants to keep her safe," Ben stated._

_Richard was silent for a moment. "You're aware that she's under Jacob's protection," he reminded the other man._

_Ben chuckled. "Of course."_

"_Then Edmund needs to go."_

_Ben arched an eyebrow up. "Excuse me?"_

"_He's a loose-cannon," Richard informed him. "He's too obsessed with Juliet to let her or see her have a 'bonding experience' with another man."_

_Ben thought about that for a moment._

"_You know that I'm right," Richard stated, eying him warily. "He treats her like she's his property, a slave. He's escalating Ben, and it's becoming dangerous."_

_Ben finally nodded. "Very well," he acquiesced. "Go let her know."_

_Richard nodded back at him before opening the door and exiting._

_Ben smirked as the door was shut and he was left alone. "Escalation could be _quite_ useful.." he muttered, a smile growing on his face._

**...End Flashback...**

Juliet almost felt she had no control over her own body. She felt herself lean back towards Jack immediately as Edmund took a step towards them.

"Stay away from her," Jack warned, grabbing hold of Juliet's hand and pulling her behind him.

"She belongs to _me_," Edmund informed the man.

Juliet gripped onto the back of Jack's shirt with her hands. "Jack.." she whispered cautiously.

Jack glanced back at her briefly before looking back at Edmund. "She doesn't _belong_ to anyone," he told him.

"I beg to differ." Edmund stated with a wry smile, pulling out his gun and aiming it at the two.

Juliet felt her breath hitch immediately. "Edmund, you can't do this, there's camera's.." she told him quietly. "They can see you."

Edmund smirked. "Not since I was the one watching the cameras, Jules."

Juliet froze. She realized in that moment she'd been lied to. Suddenly she got the feeling she was part of a plan she wasn't quite fully privy to. And now she wondered exactly how many things she'd been lied to about.

"You're such an easy target, Jules," Edmund told her with a smile. "So easy to manipulate."

Juliet stared at him from behind Jack.

"And apparently you're just as easy," Edmund told Jack.

Juliet could feel herself holding her breath in response to that. She was fairly certain Jack wouldn't be feeling very happy to be protecting her if he realized she'd been deceiving him.

"What are you talking about?" Jack questioned.

"She's been working with Ben," Edmund informed Jack cheerily. "He didn't do a damned thing to her in Room 23."

Jack glanced back at Juliet almost immediately.

Edmund chuckled.

"I'm sorry.. Jack.." Juliet stated softly, glancing down and away from him.

Jack stared at her in a stunned silence. He thought she'd tell him it was a lie. But she didn't even deny it. What the hell was going on?

"Which reminds me," Edmund began thoughtfully. "Speaking of lies and deceit," he said with a grin. "There was never anything wrong with your sister, Juliet."

Juliet looked up instantly. "What?"

Edmund grinned. "Rachel's fine. Still pregnant, still fine," he told her. "They lied."

Jack watched her carefully now. The look of shock and confusion on her face seemed genuine. But then again, so had everything else she'd done recently. Still, he didn't feel comfortable letting her out from behind him.

"So many lies.." Edmund stated wistfully. "Want to know another lie?"

Juliet was silent. She glanced at Jack and locked eyes with him. She tried her best to convey her apology further through just this look. She was surprised he was still standing there between her and Edmund, especially with the gun involved. She was vaguely reminded of James back on the beach, protecting her from the very same people she'd just deceived her friends for.

"The only reason I married you was to bring you here, to this island."

Jack watched Juliet's face and he recognized the grief that filled her features almost immediately. He recognized it from himself. It was the same grief that covered him when he realized his ex-wife had been seeing another man. She wasn't faking this one. She'd had no idea. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" he questioned immediately, turning back to Edmund. "Why are you telling her all of this now?"

Edmund just looked annoyed at the question. "Ben just wants _her,_" he stated. "Well, too bad.." he muttered. "I wasted twelve years of my life dealing with her without wanting to," he explained. "Well that's changed, I want her now and she's _mine_, so I'm keeping her." He raised the gun up higher and steadied it on Jack's forehead. "Now move."

Jack pulled Juliet further behind him. She'd been eerily silent since Edmund's announcement and he honestly felt sorry for her, even if she _had_ been deceiving him. According to Edmund she'd been doing it for her sister, and if that was true, how could he even hold it against her? He felt his trust for her building back up slowly. "No," he answered immediately, looking back towards Edmund.

"Juliet," Edmund called to her. "He's willing to get shot for you," he told her in a tone of amusement. "Are you willing to let him?"

Juliet stood silently behind Jack. She'd spent twelve years in a lie? Twelve years together, ten years in a marriage and it hadn't even _started_ with love? What was she even supposed to think about that? "It wasn't real..?" she managed out in a whisper, in a voice she hardly even recognized as her own.

Jack flinched at the agony in her voice. No one deserved to hear that..

"Juuuliet.. Juuuliet.." Edmund sung out. "Of course it wasn't real, nobody could love _you_," he told her, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Now let's go, or would you prefer I shoot him?"

Jack felt her hands clench his shirt and then he felt them release it immediately afterwords. And just as she was moving to go around him he quickly grabbed her hands. "Juliet, don't you dare.." he told her. "Don't even think about going with him."

Juliet glanced up at him.

Jack was taken aback by the lost look in her eyes. If he thought her eyes seemed hollow, void of anything earlier, he'd been mistaken. Because what he saw now were most definitely the sure signs of defeat, of being broken, and it was horrifying. "I'm on my own.. Jack," she told him, knowing her voice was strained. "Guess I always have been.."

Jack watched, stunned, as she slipped away from him and went out the door. And he watched as Edmund shot him a smug look of glory before leaving and locking the door behind him. There was one thing he was pretty sure about now. There wasn't a chance in hell that woman was ever going to truly trust anyone for a long time.

~*~*~

Two days. It had been two days before he'd seen Juliet again after the incident with Jack trying to escape. And when Sawyer had seen her heading back towards the building, he'd called out to her. That was over an hour ago. She hadn't even acknowledged his presence.

"Do you think.. that the brain drain thing they were talking about, you think it really works?" Kate finally dared to ask. If the blonde's demeanor when she'd gone passed them earlier was any indication, then it had.

"Wish I could say no.." Sawyer grumbled out. "But you saw her for yourself, Freckles.."

Kate nodded a little in response. "Yeah.. I guess I did.."

Both of them froze as the door of the building slammed open suddenly.

"What the hell?" Sawyer muttered. He stood up immediately, watching in shock as Juliet went tumbling out the door and onto the ground. "Juliet?!"

"Speak of the devil."

Kate and Sawyer heard his voice and looked over to see Edmund come out of the building now, gun raised towards Juliet.

"What the hell are you doin'?!" Sawyer growled out. He watched as Juliet tried to crawl to her feet and run but she'd hardly made it into an upright position when Edmund had grabbed her by the hair.

"Stop!" Juliet cried out, attempting to dig her feet into the ground as he dragged her towards Sawyer's cage. "Ed stop, please.. please stop.." she pleaded. She already knew it was in vain even _before_ she wound up slammed up against Sawyer's cage.

Sawyer stared in shock as she was literally face to face with him now. It was the closest she'd come to him in two days and it took her maniac husband shoving her face into his cage for it to happen. "What the hell're you doin'?!" he yelled, grasping her hand through the cage. He could tell Edmund was making sure to stay just out of his reach. "Let her go you sick sonuvabitch!"

"Tell me, Ford," Edmund stated, seething with anger now. "Did you enjoy her?"

Sawyer stared at him in shock. "What?"

"When you slept with my wife," Edmund clarified. "Did you think I wouldn't know?" he questioned. "Do you love her?" he questioned, pulling her away from the cage. He chuckled as it forced their hands apart. "How about it, Ford, you love her?"

Sawyer locked eyes with Juliet. The tears streaming down her face made him sick to his stomach. How the hell was he supposed to answer that? He'd known her for seventy-something damned days. He couldn't possibly _know_ something like that. And nearly half that time she'd been stuck with these sick bastards.

Juliet squeezed her eyes shut momentarily. At least until she felt herself being thrown forward. She landed on her hands and knees right in front of Sawyer inside his cage. She watched as he immediately knelt down and reached his hands out to her.

"Jesus.. you okay blondie..?" he asked her softly.

"How sweet," Edmund stated, rolling his eyes. "Well at least you can watch her die."

Juliet turned at the sound of gun being cocked. She felt herself immediately crawling backwards until her back hit the cage.

"Don't you dare you sonuvabitch!" Sawyer screamed out, wrapping his arms around her through the cage. He felt her hands grip his own and he swore he could lose the feeling in then with the vice-grip she had.

"You think you can stop me?" Edmund questioned, finding amusement in that.

And Sawyer knew he couldn't. There wasn't a damned thing he could do from behind the bars except hold onto the blonde for dear life. "I got you, Juliet.." he told her. "I ain't lettin' go.. don't you worry."

Juliet nodded her head, closing her eyes.

"Good-bye, Juliet.." Edmund stated.

And two distinct gun-shots rang out.

**()()TBC()()**

**I know. That was incredibly horrible, wasn't it? And holy crap that was one of my longest chapters ever written. It was definitely the longest chapter of this story, no doubt about that. Obviously I couldn't help having some scenes from the actual show vaguely shadowed in this chapter!**

**I'm sorry this took longer than I thought to get posted. We had a huge blizzard and it knocked my internet out all damned day.. stupid blizzard. I hate snow. We already had two feet of snow. Just what we needed, more snow! Thaaaank you Jesus!**

**-Sarah**


	14. Crashing

**Author's Note**: I'm telling you guys. This blizzard is really pissing me off! My internet keeps going down for hours at a time. It's really making updating a handful. Not to mention my sister got sick, so she pawned her children off on me all last night and this morning. Wonderful!

Well, this chapter is for **teh-Sara**! You and your ten inches of snow! Let's trade, you take our 30-something inches and we'll take your ten!

**Fate's a Fickle Foe**:

_Without thought, without voice, without a soul,_

_Do not let me die here, there must be something more._

-**Evanescence**

**...Flashback(30 days ago)...**

"_Ben, do you really believe this is the best idea?" Richard questioned, studying the blonde in the chair. The brainwashing facility had to be his least favorite facility on Hydra island and the main island put together. "The longest that we've ever put somebody into Room 23 was four days," he pointed out warily._

_Ben just smiled. "Did you come here with a point?"_

"_My point is," Richard began. "Four days put him on the brink insanity. Three weeks will destroy her."_

"_I beg to differ," Ben bit out in a challenge. "Edmund's been perfectly normal."_

_Richard let a sigh escape. "I'm beginning to question what exactly you consider normal."_

_Ben released a chuckle in response to the statement._

"_There's a reason they made two days straight a maximum for this facility, Ben," Richard reminded him. "Any longer then that and you risk the chance of making them become something that is beyond anyone's control."_

_Ben tapped his fingers on the wall out of annoyance. "Everyone can be controlled."_

"_Even you," Richard retorted._

_Ben narrowed his eyes. "I'm late, I better be going."_

_Richard studied the man. "You think it's wise to try and infiltrate their camp?"_

"_We'll find out soon enough," Ben responded before exiting the room. "Three and a half weeks. Understand?"_

_Richard said nothing, watching as Ben left. He stepped in front of the chair where Juliet was sitting in a half-daze, her wrists bound to the handles of the chair. "I apologize for this, Doctor Burke," he told her. Then he put the goggles down over her eyes. As he was leaving he flicked the switch on for the projector. "Brian," he called out as he shut the door._

"_Yes?"_

"_Take her out every two days for at least six hours," Richard ordered him._

_Brian was silent for a beat before he responded. "But Ben said--"_

"_I know what Ben said," Richard replied, cutting him off. "Every two days for six hours."_

"_Yes sir."_

_~*~*~_

Two and a half weeks later..

"_Aldo, where's Brian?" Richard questioned, staring at the young man guarding the entrance of the facility._

_Aldo arched an eyebrow. "He left for the main island two and a half weeks ago."_

_Richard felt the alarm instantly. "When was the last time Juliet was out of Room 23?" he asked immediately._

"_She hasn't been out at all," Aldo answered. "Brian said she was to stay in there for three and a --"_

"_Dammit," Richard cursed out loud, shoving the door open and going to the room. He heard the loud incessant music from down the hall and he shoved the door open quickly to Room 23. And there she was. He flicked the switch on the projector quickly, pulled the goggles off of her immediately and gently pulled the IV's from her arm._

_This was bad and he knew it. She looked like a rag-doll. He quickly cut her wrists loose and caught her as she fell forward onto him. He put one of her arms around his neck and placed his arm beneath her knees, lifting her up into his arms. As he stepped out he saw Aldo watching him. "As far as anyone else is concerned.. she's still in that room. Understand?"_

_Aldo gulped. "I didn't see anything, sir.." he stated before turning back and going outside to continue his guard._

**...End Flashback...**

"GET THE STRETCHER!"

Sawyer had no idea what exactly had just happened until he looked up and saw Tom with a gun. And a moment later he heard all the alarms going off around the area. People were coming from everywhere. Edmund was lying on the ground with a bullet in his chest and Juliet..

"Juliet!" he said quickly. It was only then that he felt something wet and sticky on his hands. He retracted one hand from hers and looked at it, staring at the blood in horror. "Juliet.. Juliet?!"

Ben watched Richard coming out of the jungle. "Richard!" he called out. "Get the doctor and bring him to the operating room!"

Richard stared at the blonde by Sawyer's cage who was now bleeding from the abdomen. He was heading into the Hydra instantly.

Sawyer cursed himself for being stuck behind theses bars now. Not knowing if she was alive, dead, where she was shot exactly. "C'mon Juliet, c'mon say somethin'.."

"Am.. so sorry.." came the almost unintelligible response from her.

"You ain't done nothin' wrong, sweetheart.." he assured her, taking her other hand back into his. He watched as the men were running out with a stretcher. "You just hold on there, blondie.."

"Save.. sister.." Juliet mumbled. "Lies.."

Sawyer frowned in response. "You ain't makin' sense.." he said quickly. Noticing the stretcher getting closer. In a minute she would be gone, being rushed back into the building.

"Good person.." came the blonde's response. "You.. you're a.. good person.."

"Juliet.." he whispered. "Juliet c'mon.."

"Let her go!" Tom told the man.

Sawyer shook his head.

Tom frowned. "We need to do surgery, we need to save her, let her go Ford or she's gonna die!"

And Sawyer did. He watched in almost a blur as the men got her onto the stretcher, as they rushed her back into the building she'd been thrown from just minutes before.

"Sawyer.." Kate called out softly. She'd only been able to watch in horror as Tom had come out of nowhere, shooting Edmund. In return, Edmund's arm had been wrenched, and his finger had pulled the trigger.

The look on Juliet's face had been one she thought you'd only see in a horror movie and that had been before Edmund shot her. The look as she'd been shot had been something Kate never wished she'd seen. The pain, the shock, the grief.. she didn't even realize she'd had tears streaking down her cheeks until now. "Sawyer it's gonna be okay.." she told him. "She'll be alright.."

Sawyer barely heard Kate. He was staring at his blood covered hands that were still on the other side of the bars, where she'd been just a moment before. _Her_ blood.

"_Save.. sister.. lies.._"

What the hell had she been trying to say there? Saving someone's sister? Lies? Lies _about_ saving someone's sister? There were so many different ways that those words could be placed in a sentence.

"_Good person.. you.. you're a.. good person.._"

It was almost the exact same thing she'd told him the second day they were on the island after they had crashed. It was close enough anyways.

"_All things considered, James.." she began. "I don't believe there is a such thing as a great guy," she admitted to him before glancing down at the ground. She took a moment before she glanced back up and met his eyes once more. "But if there is, I'm sure you're pretty close to being one of them."_

He remembered shrugging off the compliment by offending her.

"_How is anyone supposed to trust you when you don't even trust yourself?" she asked him curiously. She waited out his silence momentarily before continuing. "Look, James.. I may not have the best judgment of people, clearly, but I believe in you. I believe you're a good person."_

He frowned now, his eyes glued to his hands. No one had ever believed in him before. But she had. It was no wonder he fell for the blonde so easily. In two days of knowing him she had told him all of the things he'd thought he'd never hear, all the things he always wondered if he _wanted_ to hear.

Now he wondered if he was going to lose the one person in this world that took the time to know _him_. He wondered if he should have told her he loved her. Because he was pretty sure if he didn't yet, he would given a little more time. And now what if he never got that chance? James Ford didn't fall in love. But he was coming damn close.

~*~*~

"_I'm not a hero, Jack.._" _she assured him._

Jack had been thinking about those words ever since she said them. She'd spoken those words after The Others had released her. About a week into their crash on the island. Now he was thinking about them even more. How long had she actually been working with those people? Edmund had made it clear he'd been one of them for a very long time.

If he took the man's words as truth, then Juliet had been forced into their group unknowingly. But he also knew something else. If what the man said was true, he'd known the plane from Sydney to Los Angeles was going to crash..

"_I know it feels like you're giving up if you do what I ask, Jack.." she stated calmly. "But you're _not_.. you _need_ to eat.._"

"_I need you to trust me, Jack.._" – "_You can trust me.._"

He sat down on the table in the center of his cell. _Could_ he trust her? Maybe that entire scene in his cell just a little bit ago had been for show. To _make_ him trust her. He groaned, putting his head in his hands. Suddenly all the alarms going off made him jump, he nearly fell off the table doing so. He glanced around cautiously. What the hell was going on?

He jumped off the table immediately when the door to his cell slammed open. There had been no warning knock. That's what shocked him so much.

"We need your help," Richard told him immediately.

Jack stared at the man uncertainly. "Why would I help you?" he questioned, forcing himself not to roll his eyes.

"Let me rephrase that," Richard reiterated. "Juliet needs your help and we need you to come now."

Jack was silent for a moment. He was about to open his mouth when the man spoke again.

"She's been shot."

Jack was on alert immediately. "When?" he asked quickly.

"A few minutes ago, she needs help _now_," Richard told him. "Come with me."

Jack was following him immediately. They were running now and Jack was right on Richard's tail as they went out one door of the Hydra. He tossed one glance at Sawyer who was staring at his blood covered hands and at Kate who looked mortified. He caught sight of Edmund lying unmoving on the ground before he was across to the other door and out of their sight.

He was in the room just next to the one she was lying in when he spoke. He was sterilizing his hands, disinfecting them. "It was him, wasn't it?" he asked suddenly. "Edmund shot her?"

Richard was staring through the glass window on the door, looking in at Juliet lying on the table. "Yes."

Jack said nothing else as he pushed the doors open to their operating room. As he stared at her, her skin a sickly pale, almost ghastly color, he knew then that the scene in his cell hadn't been fake. They wouldn't have attempted to murder her to prove she was trustworthy, at least, he hoped they wouldn't. And even if they would, he hoped she wouldn't have agreed to possibly die for whatever their cause.

"I need one person to stay and help, everyone else needs to leave the room," he told them quickly.

Richard came in at the moment, his hands disinfected as well. "I'll be staying," he told him. "Everyone go."

They watched as the others studied them both before exiting and going up to the observation window.

_She reached the hand up that he wasn't holding and let the tips of her fingers rest on his cheek. "You can't help me, Jack.." she told him softly._

She was wrong, he thought in that instant. He _could_ help her. And he was going to prove that to her right now.

"_I'm on my own.. Jack.._" – "_I guess I always have been.._"

And suddenly he realized how often she used his name when she spoke to him. In nearly every sentence she'd spoken to him she'd made sure to say his name. Almost as if she was trying to remind herself who he was. Had that been what she was trying to do?

Within a short amount of time he'd managed to remove the bullet with Richard's help. It didn't take long for him to realize she was still bleeding somewhere and she'd already lost far too much blood. This was getting dangerous, he needed to find the bleed soon. A moment later when the monitor started beeping faster and faster was when he got more then slightly worried. "She's crashing," he said. "I need paddles."

"They're broken," Richard informed him, his brows furrowed. "We don't have incidents like this."

Jack stared at him momentarily before Juliet flat-lined. "Dammit.." he growled out. She wasn't on her own. He wouldn't let her be. She was a a survivor and he was going to make damned sure she stayed that way.

"_It wasn't real..?_" _she managed out in a whisper._

He started the chest compressions instantly. "You're not alone, Juliet.." he told her quietly, continuing the compressions.

"She's gone," Richard told him, his voice softer then it ever had been before. "You can stop."

"No," Jack retorted instantly. "She's not gone and I won't stop.."

Richard watched in an awed silence as Jack continued to do chest compressions. He stared at the face of the woman who'd been a breath of fresh air to him. She hadn't deserved to die. He remembered what he'd said to her a few days ago. He felt horrible for it.

_Richard turned and glanced at Sawyer, arching an eyebrow up immediately. He glanced at Juliet, as though he only just now noticed the strange look on her face. He forgot at times how nervous he made people. He leaned forward, his hand moving to her back and his lips hovering just next to her ear, nearly touching it. "It would be best to listen.. for the sake of James and your sister."_

He sighed now, daring to look up at the men staring down at them. He shook his head, indicating it was over. "Let her go, Jack."

"Go to hell," Jack retorted immediately. "You people did this to her!" he growled out in frustration. He would fix this, he would fix her.

Richard opened his mouth to speak but was cut-off when the monitor began to slowly beep again. He stared at it, wondering briefly if it was a fluke before he realized it wasn't. She was back.

"Help me fix the bleed," Jack said quickly, accepting the surgical pads that Richard handed him in an instant.

And not too long later he'd managed to stop the last bleed. While he was closing her up he noticed Richard watching him out of the corner of his eye. "I'm staying with her," he informed the man.

"Very well.." Richard replied. "She'll be fine?" he questioned.

Jack finished stitching the wound in Juliet's abdomen closed before he locked eyes with Richard. "She's out of the danger zone now," he explained. "Now she just needs to heal."

"That won't be a problem here," Richard stated. "I'll be back shortly.. we'll prepare a room for her."

Jack was silent as he watched the man leave. He also watched the men leave the observation window and he found himself completely alone with the unconscious woman. He pushed the strands of blonde hair out of her face and sighed in relief. Physically he knew she was going to be fine. But he wondered how long it would take for her to emotionally recover.

**()()TBC()()**

**I know what you guys were thinking in the beginning. You were cursing me going.. 'YOU ASS! Why would you start it with the flashback?! We wanna know what happens!'**

**Well that's why I did it. Hahaha.**

**Anyways. I really wanted to make this chapter longer.. but I had so many damned interruptions, I hope you'll forgive me! I'll update again soon. My entire weekend is free, since my car is buried in about three feet of snow.**

**-Sarah**


	15. Jailbreak

**Author's Note**: Yes, I CAN write two stories at once! Watch me! (And then in a week you can all watch me probably fail epically.) Now everyone wish my Grams a happy 77th birthday! Happy V-Day guys! I'm on a roll with writing lately! Go me!

This one is for **eyeon**!

**Fate's a Fickle Foe**:

_If shame had a face, I think it would kind of look like me,_

_If it had a home, would it be in my eyes?_

_-_**Lifehouse**

Three days had passed since Juliet's surgery. Jack had watched her wake up for brief periods of time and each time she hadn't spoken a word to him. She'd simply stare up at the ceiling. He couldn't lie and say that it didn't worry him because in fact, it did. There wasn't anything he could do. If she didn't want to talk then he couldn't force her.

Truthfully he hadn't been out of her room in the last three days and he found himself wondering how Sawyer and Kate were fairing outside. They would have no idea what was going on with Juliet, if she was okay, even if she was alive. He frowned, studying the blonde in her sleep. For nearly the millionth time he found himself sitting here and wondering what exactly these people did and didn't really do to her and he found that he wasn't entirely sure.

"You don't have to stay here with me.." came Juliet's raspy voice. She hadn't needed to open her eyes to know Jack was still there, just as he'd been for three days straight.

Jack found himself smiling regardless of where his thoughts previously were. "You're awake," he stated and watched as her blue eyes opened and she turned her head to look at him. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been shot," came her swift reply. "Why did you save me?" she questioned, studying his intense look. It didn't make any sense to her. As for as he was concerned she was one of them at this point, not a survivor from the plane.

"Almost a week ago you asked me to trust you, Juliet," he told her. "That's what I'm doing, I'm trusting you, and that's why I saved you," he explained.

Juliet was silent for a moment. She wasn't too sure she believed him at the moment, then again, she wasn't sure if she believed anything that anyone told her anymore. "We're all going to die here, you know that don't you?" she asked, her voice quiet as she looked away from him.

Jack studied her carefully. Her words hit him quickly and he realized he'd been thinking that ever since they realized rescue wasn't coming. He'd been thinking that eventually they were all going to die on this island one-by-one. So far, it had been happening. People really had been dying. And Juliet had nearly become one of them. He opened his mouth to speak when the door opened suddenly and he watched a teenage girl enter.

"Can she be moved?" she asked quickly.

Juliet studied Alex carefully.

"Well.. I guess," Jack answered with a frown. "Why would we need to move her?"

"If you guys want to get back to _your_ island than now is your chance," Alex informed him. "Everyone's in a meeting, now's the only chance you guys have to get the hell out of here."

Juliet finally spoke up. "What are you doing Alex?" she asked softly. She admitted she had a soft spot for the girl regardless of who her father was.

"You're going to help us escape?" Jack asked cryptically.

"Can she be moved?" Alex asked again impatiently.

"Yes," Jack answered with resignation. If they had the chance to escape, they might as well take it.

Alex nodded. "Then let's move it!"

Jack was quick to start unplugging Juliet from her different machines. He watched as she remained silent now and he wondered briefly what she was thinking before he pulled her up into his arms.

"C'mon, we gotta hurry," Alex said, leading him out of the building quickly.

"Sawyer, look!" Kate called out, watching as Jack emerged from the building holding Juliet. "Jack!" she called out to him. She watched as the teenager that had spoken to her and Sawyer before came over to her cage and unlocked it.

Sawyer stood quickly, waiting at the door to his own cell. He looked at Juliet and noted that her eyes were closed and he frowned. "She okay, Doc?" he questioned with worry.

Jack glanced down at her and noticed her closed eyes now as well. He frowned slightly but looked up at Sawyer and nodded. "She'll be fine.."

Sawyer watched as Kate was freed and then watched as the girl came over to his cage and picked his lock too. "What the hell's goin' on?"

"We're making a jailbreak," Jack concluded after Sawyer was released.

"Hurry, there's not a lot of time before someone comes out of the meeting and notices!" Alex told them.

Sawyer held his arms out for the blonde in Jack's arms and was surprised as the man handed her over without a second thought.

"What are you doing?"

All of them froze and turned, looking at Richard in silence.

Richard arched an eyebrow up and studied all of them. He sighed and shook his head. "Go," he stated quickly. "The meeting will be over in twenty minutes, that's how long you have."

They didn't wait for a reason why he was letting them go. They all took off in an instant, following a teenager through the jungle to God only knows where.

And it wasn't even twenty minutes when they reached the shore. "Karl!" Alex called out, leading them the survivor's towards her boyfriend who'd been preparing the boats for her.

"Hey Alex.." Karl greeted her with a small smile. "We're all set to go.."

Alex nodded. "One of you will have to ride with us.." she told them. "We could take Juli--"

"No.." Sawyer stated. "She's stayin' with me," he explained, almost feeling embarrassed about cutting the girl off.

"Kate, you should ride with them, that way I can keep an eye on Juliet," he told the brunette. He watched as she nodded her head and helped the two teenagers shove their boat off into the ocean. He glanced over at Sawyer now. "Let's lay her down in the boat."

Sawyer nodded slightly. They managed to place Juliet into the boat as carefully as they could before they both pulled the boat into the water and paddled out after Kate, Alex and Karl.

After a few minutes into the trip he finally dared to ask a question. "What happened?"

Jack glanced at Sawyer. He knew exactly what he meant about that. "She crashed once when I removed the bullet.." he admitted to him.

"She woken up at all?" Sawyer asked, glancing at the blonde.

Jack looked at her too. "A few times," he told him. "She hasn't said much.."

Sawyer frowned. "But she's talked?"

Jack was silent in response to that. He was pretty sure Sawyer and Kate had no idea about Juliet's questionable alliance. He wondered if he should tell them or let them all remain blissfully unaware. "It was mostly incoherent babbling.." he lied.

Juliet laid there with her eyes closed silently. She was surprised that Jack would have bothered to cover for her and she couldn't help but wonder why he would do it. She wondered if he'd been telling the truth when he told her he was trusting her. But it was like she told Sawyer. How could she expect people to trust her when she didn't even trust herself anymore?

Sawyer nodded slightly in response. "You sure she's gonna be alright?"

"She'll be fine once we get her back to the beach so she can rest and recuperate properly.." Jack assured him. "Well.. as properly as a little make-shift hut on the beach allows.."

Sawyer chuckled regardless of the situation.

"You really have a soft spot for her, don't you?" Jack questioned, eying the southerner carefully to judge his response. Truth be told, he'd gained a soft spot for her now as well. But he was certain it wasn't anywhere near what Sawyer felt for her.

Sawyer glanced back at Juliet once more, making sure she was still asleep before he answered. He turned back to look at Jack. "Guess I do.." he muttered, somewhat embarrassed by the realization. He could still feel the ghostly grip of her fingers digging into his hands for dear life as the gun had been pointed at her.

He remembered watching her crawl back towards him after Edmund had thrown her down towards the cage. Almost as if she wished he could protect her even though they both knew he couldn't do anything. The only thing he'd been able to do was whisper meaningless words to her for comfort.

"_I got you, Juliet.._"-- "_I ain't lettin' go.. don't you worry.._"

He realized now that those had been the most useless words he could have said to her in her position. And yet she had nodded her head as if in acceptance of the words. It hit him now, as it hadn't in the previous two days, that those had almost been the last words he'd said to the blonde who believed so much in him. 'Don't you worry'? As if staring into the barrel of a gun could make her _not_ worry just because he told her not to.

"Are you okay, Sawyer?" Jack questioned. He'd been watching the man closely who stared silently and guiltily at the blonde who'd previously been in question.

Sawyer dragged his eyes up to Jack and frowned. "You know the last thing I said to her before that asshole shot her?" he questioned. At Jack's silence he continued. "I told her I had her, wasn't lettin' go, and not to worry.." he grumbled out. "As if that could have really made the damned situation any better for her.."

Jack was quiet for another moment as he thought about what to say. "She probably appreciated the words more than you think," he told him. He noticed they were coming close to their island, the one they'd originally crashed on. "It may not seem like much to you, Sawyer, but you were there for her when nobody else was.."

"But I couldn't stop him, I couldn't save her," Sawyer muttered. "You saved her."

"So did you.." her voice croaked out from behind him.

Both men looked over at her instantly. Her blue eyes were open and she was just staring up into the sky where dusk was breaking.

Sawyer had to wonder exactly how much of this conversation she had been listening to before she'd decided to speak up. He dared and glance at Jack who was just smiling knowingly. That sonuvabitch had known she was probably awake and hadn't said a damned thing about it.

"She did that to me earlier as well," Jack admitted.

Juliet smiled sadly in response.

Sawyer glanced back at her again and watched as her eyes seemed to be drooping closed again. He frowned and leaned back, his fingertips brushing against her cheekbone. "You alright, blondie?"

"Been better.." came the muffled reply as she stifled a yawn. "Just.. so tired.."

Sawyer watched as she seemingly drifted back off into wonderland and he sighed slightly. As they pulled the boat onto the shore he carefully lifted her out of the boat, trying not to disturb her.

"This is probably as far as we should go with you," Alex told them. She glanced at Juliet in Sawyer's arms and frowned. "She's gonna be okay, isn't she Dr. Shephard?" she asked with concern.

Jack smiled and nodded. "She'll be just fine.." he assured her. "That man, Richard, he'd been right about her healing quickly, she's healing a lot faster then I would've expected."

Alex chuckled. "The joy of the Island.." she said softly. "It's good for something," she admitted. "Good luck you guys, c'mon Karl."

Karl took her hand and started following after her.

Alex stopped and looked back at them. "Your camp is that way," she told them, pointing in the right direction.

Jack glanced at Sawyer and Kate. "We should probably camp here.." he told them. "Head back to camp at daybreak."

Kate nodded her agreement. "Sounds like a plan.."

"Alright.." Sawyer stated, glancing down at Juliet before following Kate and Jack a little ways into the jungle to make camp for the night.

~*~*~

_The next afternoon.._

"Check it out!!" came Hurley's excited voice as he saw Kate round the corner of the brush at the end of camp. "KATE!" he called out, causing everyone to look and start heading towards her.

The excitement of the camp only grew as Jack rounded the corner as well, and hugs were being handed out from everyone.

Hurley's grin could only grow when Sawyer came around the corner with Juliet in his arms. "Dude.." he stated, going up to Sawyer immediately. "You found her.. she's like.. she's alive right?" he questioned, noticing the paleness of the blonde. It seemed to catch everyone's attention, because now all eyes were on Sawyer and Juliet.

Before Sawyer could answer though, Juliet's tired voice rang out instead.

"I'm alive, Hugo.." she said softly.

"Oh man," Hurley said with a grin. "She's calling me Hugo again.."

The sentence was received with a small laugh from Juliet in response. It only served to make her wince in pain though and she found her fingers gripping the lapels of Sawyer's shirt tightly. She immediately wound up letting out a groan of protest from the laugh.

The entire beach looked concerned by the realization she was injured.

"What happened to her?" came Sayid's voice.

Jack put a stop to the sudden interrogation, noticing Sawyer was currently looking to him for help. "Sawyer.. go lay her down, she's been moved a lot already," he told him quickly. It seemed to make the crowd of survivor's move and make a path for him to get through.

He watched as Sawyer took her further down the beach away and out of ear shot from everyone else. And when the crowd dissipated, he looked at the few people left around him. Hurley, Charlie, Sayid Kate and Locke. "Her husband shot her," he explained in a quiet voice to those left that wanted the explanation.

Sayid's eyes locked with his instantly. "When?" he questioned, daring a glance in the direction that Sawyer had walked off in. "How is she—"

"A few days ago," Kate answered. "The Others had me and Sawyer in cages," she explained. She knew Jack hadn't been there to see what happened. The explanation here was left up to her. "Those people tried to brainwash her."

Jack remained silent at that. But he piped in his own knowledge about Juliet's husband. "From what I overheard, her husband is one of them, has been for a long time," he admitted.

"Then how do we know she is not one of them as well?" Sayid asked suddenly. "How do we know all of this is not a trick?"

Kate shot Sayid a glare. "You didn't see what we did, Sayid," she told him.

Jack knew better now than to tell anyone Juliet had been working with them. She'd been doing it for good reasons even if those reasons had been lies. He couldn't throw her under the bus. "She had no idea he was one of them," he assured them. "Her face when he told her.. it was the worst thing I've ever seen. He told her their entire marriage had been a sham, his goal had just been to bring her to this island."

Everyone froze and looked at Jack, including Kate.

"He knew the plane was going to crash here," Jack told them, explaining the previous statement.

"You're saying we crashed here because they wanted Juliet?" Locke questioned, raising an eyebrow up curiously.

Jack could only shrug his shoulders in response to that. "They seem to want something from some of us as well," he stated. "They wanted something from me.. fortunately we escaped before we found out _what_ they wanted."

"So.. this probably isn't the last we've seen of _them_, is it?" Charlie questioned.

"Probably not.." Jack admitted. "We seem to have a lot of what they want.."

**()()TBC()()**

**You didn't think this entire story would ALWAYS be about Sawyer and Juliet, right? I had to include some of the other characters now that they're on the beach. Don't worry. Sawyer and Juliet moment will be next chapter for you crazy fans!**

**-Sarah**


	16. Remember

**Author's Note**: Who was voting I'd fail in my attempts to write both stories? *raises hand* Well. Now that we've determined that!

To **odin force**, sorry, as anonymous its your choice that I can't reply. So therefore, I'm not sure how I can change anything for you to like it more.

**Fate's a Fickle Foe**:

"_I will remember you_

_Will you remember me?"_

_**Sarah McLachlan**_

A week passes and there are no interruptions from the Others. Other than Nikki and Paulo no one else has died either. No one was able to figure out _exactly_ what happened to the two, but they buried them nonetheless. Their beach was beginning to seem more like a graveyard with all the bodies buried underneath its sand or in the nearby area.

"Ain't no chance in hell this thing'll catch a fish," Sawyer muttered to the Korean next to him.

"Catch fish.." Jin responded. "Yes." he agreed with a nod as they both stood with large sticks. They'd strung string they'd found to it and made fake-rods. It wasn't effective, but it was amusing.

Sawyer chuckled. "Whatever you say Banzai," he stated with a shake of his head.

"I catch.." Jin stated, making a motion with his hands. "No more nickname."

Sawyer arched an eyebrow up in response. A grin formed automatically. "Well alright then, you catch a fish, no more nicknames!"

"For week!" Jin added with a nod.

Sawyer blinked. _Damn._ "Alright, for a week!" he agreed. No way in hell was he catching a fish with a damned stick anyways.

Twenty minutes later and he was staring as the Korean threw a fish onto the beach with the stick. "You stabbed it, that was cheatin'.." he grumbled.

"Well.. _technically_, you only said he had to catch the fish," came Juliet's voice from behind them. "I don't recall you saying _how_ he had to do it."

Sawyer glanced back and guffawed. "What the hell are ya' doin' up?"

Juliet smiled. "I feel fine."

"That ain't even humanly possible," Sawyer pointed out, standing up and heading towards her. "I got shot in the shoulder and I felt worse than you for a week."

Juliet frowned slightly, remember the circumstances. "Technically.. it's almost been two weeks," she pointed out.

Sawyer was silent. He nearly forgot about the three days she spent recovering with '_them_' and the one day in the jungle before they'd gotten back to the beach. "Two weeks.." he mumbled. Why did those two words seem so damned familiar?

"James?"

"_Bought us two weeks."_

He found himself staring into her blue eyes and he wasn't sure what to say. What to do. There was pain, there was a bright light, he was seeing stars.

"James.."

"_Horace said we could wait for the next sub. With any luck.. Locke'll be back by then."_

"_And then what?" Juliet.._

And it had been strange enough hearing himself. But then he heard her voice as well. And now it felt like he was living a dream. He was watching himself talk to her. It had to be a dream, because it had never happened.

He watched the blonde, with her messy hair in a loose bun, a look of uncertainty on her face. And he felt like he knew this. Like it _was_ real. But it couldn't be.

"James!!"

"_What do you mean, 'then what'?"_

Dream Juliet's body turned and he realized they were on a dock. The same dock the Others had dragged them onto when they'd taken himself, Jack and Kate. What the hell was happening? The pain was getting worse, he was seeing everything more clearly.

"_Locke said he was leaving to save us.." came her voice, soft, gentle. "The flashes have stopped, they're over.. no more bloody noses, we're already saved."_

"James, James!"

"Sawyer!"

"_That sub behind you brought me here. I've been trying to get off of this island for more than three years, and now I've got my chance," she told him, a small, dream shattered smile that held no real happiness coming to her lips. "I'm going to leave.."_

"_You do realize.. it's 1974.." he gruffed out in response. "Whatever it is you think you're goin' back to.. don't exist yet." Nothing like shattering dreams._

"What happened?!"

"I don't know!" – "One minute he was fine, the next he was in pain, then he just dropped!"

_He could see at first she didn't want to think like that. Her hand went to her face and she tried to cover it up as though she were simply swiping hair from her eyes. "It's not a reason not to go.." she whispered and he saw the truth, after when she swiped under her nose too. He'd shattered her dream._

"_Well what about me?" he questioned, exasperated. "You're really gonna leave me here with the Mad Scientist and Mr. 'I speak to dead people,'" he tried hard not to grin when she gave a light laugh in response. "And Jin, whose a helluva nice guy, but not _exactly_ the greatest conversationalist!_"

_The smile on her face was almost enough. "You'll be fine.." she assured him._

"He's been out for five minutes! Jack, what's happened to him?!"

"I don't know, Juliet! Dammit it." – "Sawyer, Sawyer c'mon, can you hear me?!"

"Jack, look at his eyes.."

"REM.."

"James.."

"_Maybe.. but whose gonna get my back?" he retorted. "C'mon! Just gimme two weeks, that's all I'm askin'. Two weeks!"_

_There was immediate hesitation as she tried to decide what to say. He wondered if she was trying to decide how to turn him down, at least until she locked eyes with him. It was silent until she looked away for one brief moment, then looked back up at him. "Alright, two weeks.."_

There was something wet and cold on his forehead when he finally opened his eyes. He noticed it was dark out. What the hell had just happened? What the hell had been all those different memories? Over three years of memories? This island was making him lose his damned mind.

"Thank God," came her voice again. "Are you alright?"

He watched as a pale face came and hovered above him momentarily, blue eyes wavering with worry and blonde hair like a halo falling over her shoulders. "What the hell.." No freaking way.

Juliet moved away as he sat up quickly and nearly headbutted her. "Relax," she said cautiously, reaching her hands out to stop him. "Why don't you tell me what happened?"

"Not a damned clue," he muttered, his hand going straight to his head. The remnants of the headache still hadn't gone away. "But I saw--"

Screams. That caused both of them to pause and look at each other before they both glanced out of the flaps of the make-shift tent. People were holding their heads and dropping to the ground, just as Sawyer had done.

"What's goin' on?" Sawyer asked her immediately.

Juliet stared with uncertainty. "I.. I don't know," she admitted. "It looks like what happened to you," she told him. "You reacted the exact same way," she pointed out. She glanced around and noticed other people looking out from their tents as well. Everyone outside was having the problem. Everyone inside was just fine. "They need help.."

Sawyer grabbed her hand. "Don't even think 'bout it," he warned her. "You outta your damned mind?"

Juliet narrowed her eyes. "People are _screaming_, somebody needs to go out there!" she growled out at him. She noticed Jack come out of his tent just a few feet away and he immediately dropped as well. She hesitated now. "Jack.." she muttered. He'd saved her. She had to try and help him too. But before she could even exit the tent she felt the excruciating pain behind her eyes. Saw the white light. She was pretty sure she heard herself scream.

"Juliet!" Sawyer growled, pulling the blonde over to him. He stared down at her, her hands gripping her hair tightly, eyes scrunched together. This had happened to him? Why him first? And why everyone else now? He poked his head out from the tent and stared. Screams were coming from the other tents now.

He looked back at the blonde and frowned. "Juliet, hey, c'mon," he mumbled, tapping her lightly on the cheek. There was absolutely no reaction and the entire beach was silent now. People were just laying everywhere and he had absolutely no idea what to do.

"Man, you're awake.."

Sawyer looked up at Miles. "What the hell is goin' on?"

"Tell me you remember.." Miles stated. "That I'm not just going crazy or something.. cause man LaFleur.. this is insane."

Sawyer stared at him momentarily. _LaFleur.. LaFleur.. why did that sound so damned familiar? _"What'd you call me?"

"LaFleur," Miles stated cautiously. "Man.. you don't remember?"

"Dharma.." Sawyer muttered.

Miles had to grin. "Finally, man I wondered when you would remember, I was thinking I was crazy for a while.."

"A while?" Sawyer questioned. He glanced at Miles. "How the hell long have you--" he stopped. Froze was more like it.

"_If I never meet you.. then I never have to lose you.."_

He stared down at Juliet almost immediately.

"_I mean.. maybe we were never supposed to be together.. so if Jack can make it so that we never met, then.. he should."_

"Sonuvabitch.." he muttered, defeat in his voice.

"_I changed my mind when I saw you look at her.."_

Kate. He looked at Kate. That was the _entire_ reason he was in this mess. Kate the damned catalyst. But he'd gotten her back, hadn't he? She was right here in his arms.

Miles shrugged. "I remembered before I got on the plane.. that's _why_ I got on the plane.." he admitted. "I was surprised to see Juliet on it.. I thought she was here for three years before--"

"She was," Sawyer growled out. "What the _hell_ kinda reset is this?"

Miles shook his head and took a seat. "Don't know man.." he admitted. "But.. look around," he pointed, nodding his head outside the tent. "You were out for eight hours after the memories hit.." he stated. "We've got time to figure it out.."

Sawyer finally dragged his eyes from Juliet's face to Miles'.

"Pretty interesting that you two still got so attached to each other in the reset.." Miles stated. He had to bring it up, for Sawyer's benefit if anything. "I'd say that means something.. boss."

Sawyer locked eyes with Miles. "Ain't yer damned boss," he repeated, but he felt a small smile gracing his face at making the comment. "She's alive.." he muttered, glancing down with disbelief.

Miles nodded slightly.

"This whole.. massive migraine, pass out for eight hours bullshit happened to you? Off the island?" Sawyer dared to ask.

"Yep.." Miles admitted. "Sucked too," he stated with a chuckle.

"Why's that?"

"I was taking a leak."

Sawyer smirked immediately.

Miles rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah.."

**()()TBC()()**

**Not where I'd originally tended this story to go. But hell.. might as well make it interesting.**

**Next chapter.. let's see what happens when they all remember.**


	17. Perfection

**Author's Note**: Okay, credit for some events in this chapter go to **G. Callen** and **Northern Wolf**. They both wanted a little Jate intervention, so, as much as I'd like to set Kate on fire, I suppose I'll let her live.

PS. Me and Northern Wolf both wonder where Jack's chest hair disappeared to from the earlier seasons. I have two thoughts on this. A.) He waxes. Like a magical eww chest buff. Or B.) Someone set Kate on fire, and it all singed off in an attempt to save her. (Okay, B came from Northern Wolf, but I'm going to continue to think it's plausible!)

**Fate's a Fickle Foe**:

_I know that you love me and soon I know you'll see,_

_You were meant for me and I was meant for you._

_**Jewel**_

"So like.. we should probably make sure nobody got hurt," Miles suggested, scratching his head and looking around at all the bodies littering the beach. "Right?"

Sawyer took a glance down at Juliet whose eyes were moving rapidly beneath her closed eyelids. He placed her down gently in the tent before exiting with Miles just behind him. "Yea', prolly' a good idea," he muttered, glancing around.

And they spent the next half hour to forty five minutes checking people for injuries, moving them out of really embarrassing predicaments, or any other such fiascoes.

"So what's all this mean?" Sawyer questioned. "I mean.." he frowned, wondering what he did mean. "Well, why the hell did you remember before anyone else? Why did I?" he questioned. "And why did everyone else just drop like flies?" he asked, lifting Kate into his arms.

Miles arched an eyebrow as Sawyer picked up Kate, but he said nothing about it. "Haven't got a clue," he admitted. When he realized they were going into Jack's tent with Kate's unconscious form, his interest and curiosity were piqued. "Alright.. you got me.. what the hell are you doing?" he wondered aloud.

Sawyer smirked in response. "Letting go," he stated casually with a shrug as he placed Kate down in the tent. A moment later he was outside, dragging Jack inside by the arm.

Miles felt a chuckle bellow out before he could stop it. "That's just.. evil and conniving."

"Least I ain't taking their clothes off," he pointed out.

"That's a bonus," Miles admitted. "Well, I mean, you could take her clothes off and I really wouldn't mind, but looking at him isn't really a dream I've had."

Sawyer glanced back at him. "Oh, so you've had a dream kinda like it then?"

Miles narrowed his eyes. "Ha-ha."

"Keep watch," Sawyer muttered, heading off to his own tent where Juliet lay.

"Like they're going anywhere!?" Miles called after him. Though, as soon as he was alone in the tent with Jack and Kate, he could swear one of them twitched. He almost ran away. But hey, sleeping people _can_ twitch, right?

Sawyer glanced down at the blonde who looked almost peaceful for the first time in a long time. In the last reality and in this one. Course, in the last one-- he tried not to think about it again. "Doin' this for you, sweetheart," he muttered, grabbing a pair of handcuffs from his stash of stolen goods. Least some things hadn't changed in this reality.

"_When I saw you look at her.."_

That part of her statement would always be so clear in his head. And he sat for a moment, placing his hand on her cheek as if trying to prove she was really there. He remembered back in Dharmaville wishing he'd been able to see her before she adapted to the island. Wanting to see what she'd really been like, if she really had been different before she came here.

Suddenly he found himself wishing he didn't know. He'd gotten to witness how she was firsthand because of Jack's idea of a reset. And some reset, none of them forgot. He couldn't complain. Seeing her alive again was enough for him. But remembering watching her die, her claims of love before she fell to imminent death.. how he hadn't said it back. At the time he hadn't wanted to believe she would be gone. Saying it back would have been admitting she was leaving him.

Now as he stared down at her face, he really wished he had said it back. Because, what if this reset hadn't happened? What if he never got this chance? She would have died without knowing. Without knowing _she_ was his only choice. Kate was never an option at that point. Now he just felt the need to prove it to her. In the form of a ridiculous prank. He chuckled slightly before standing and exiting his tent.

"Well damn, been long enough," Miles muttered out, watching as Sawyer came over with a pair of handcuffs. "Whatcha' going to do with those?" he questioned, curiosity getting the best of him again. He didn't wait for the answer. The glint in Sawyer's eyes were enough and he had a grin come across his face that could've split his face in two. "Oh man.." he mumbled. "They're gonna kill you."

Sawyer shrugged. "Hell, I coulda' lost her again in this reality if it hadn't been for Jackass here," he admitted. "This is for their benefit, I swear," he stated.

"You do have the key for those, right?" Miles dared to ask.

Sawyer thought about it. "Think so," he replied. He quickly shackled Kate and Jack's hands together.

Miles felt himself snickering. "Shit.. what I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall when these two wake up.." he admitted. "Remind me how this benefits _them_, and doesn't just amuse you?"

"Clearly the two lovebirds got some.. issues, to work through," he answered with a shrug. "C'mon, anybody whose got a damned brain can see that."

Miles arched an eyebrow up. "So.. handcuffing them together is gonna solve that?"

"Well, they ain't getting' uncuffed til' they work it out," came Sawyer's answer.

Miles snorted out a laugh.

They took a seat inside Sawyer's tent with Juliet's sleeping form once they double checked on everybody. It wasn't too long before their prankster mood and doctor moods became somber.

"How do you think this is going to go?" Miles questioned suddenly.

"For who?" Sawyer asked.

Miles shrugged and thought about it. "All the people that have died.."

Sawyer was silent momentarily. There were over a hundred people out there that would wake up in a few hours and remember dying. And one of them was the woman he loved, whose head was currently resting in his lap. "It ain't gonna be pretty.." he answered after a few moments of silence. "How would you feel if you woke up and remembered you already lived this life once and died in it?"

"Probably sucks as bad living it a second time and remembering watching all of them die.." Miles answered, running his hand across his short-cropped hair. "Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot.." Sawyer muttered. He got the feeling he knew what was about to be asked.

Miles waited a beat before he asked. "What happened between you two.. before you jumped on the whole.. blow up the island bandwagon?"

Sawyer dared a glance down at the blonde in question along with himself. "Was my damned fault," he admitted after a minute. "I focused a little too much on Kate without really noticin' it.. but she noticed," he stated, nodding down at Juliet. "She thought I still loved Kate, I guess.."

"Did you?" Miles dared to ask. He wondered if he would regret it.

Sawyer thought about it momentarily. "Think I just loved the idea of her.." he admitted. "The whole mystery, the wild side of things.." he explained. "But not her."

Miles arched both eyebrows up.

"I loved the chase," Sawyer explained next.

Miles thought about that and accepted it. "Always fun to want what you can't have."

Sawyer nodded a bit. "Until you love what you can have and what you can't have comes flashin' off a damned airplane into the center of your lives."

"Think I see the problem," Miles stated.

"Oh yea?"

"You were remembering the chase instead of what you already had right in front of you, am I right?" Miles questioned.

"Hammered that nail _right_ on the head," Sawyer agreed.

Miles glanced at Juliet now as well. "For what it's worth.." he stated. "I'm sorry you went through that.."

Sawyer locked eyes with Miles a moment later. "Not as sorry as me.." he muttered.

And it was a few hours later when people began rousing from their slumber of memories. Miles had disappeared to his own tent to give Sawyer and Juliet privacy for when they all did wake up, and neither of them wanted to be around everyone else while they were completely freaking out.

Sawyer was perfectly content just watching as those blue eyes slowly opened, basking in confusion. He tried not to be offended when she jumped away from him as though he'd just burned her.

She glanced out of the tent immediately at the commotion going on outside on the beach. Of some peoples screams, some peoples relief, others' grief. She watched all of the different reactions going on. Shannon was one of the screamers. Boone was filled with grief. Claire had an indescribable look of pain, grief and fear. Not one look or reaction was exactly the same. She found herself clutching sand between her fingers as she looked back at Sawyer.

Finding she didn't know what to say, or what do to, she looked down at the sand instead. She wasn't even entirely sure what to _feel_. Not because she'd died, though that was definitely a part of it, but because of _this_ reality. Instead of spending six years on the island, she spent all that extra time in a loveless marriage that had been all about _bringing_ her to the island?

But for the love of God, she'd nearly been killed this time too. _Edmund_ of all people had snapped and tried to murder her. Because she slept with-- her thoughts froze and she instantly looked up at Sawyer. She caught his worried look, his look of uncertainty and slight fear. And it hit her how ironic it was that she'd fallen in love with him all over again. Her eyes softened almost immediately and she felt herself inch towards him, cupping her hands on either side of his face.

She didn't need to ask to know that he remembered. She could see it in his eyes. And she didn't dare say anything as she slowly gravitated her face towards his, her lips stopped just a hair in front of his. She felt his breath hot on her face and she'd never felt so relieved, so scared, so in love and so _raw_ all at the same time.

He was shocked by all the emotions playing across her face. As she watched everybody remembering, as _she_ remembered. And he was torn when she avoided his gaze at first. But when she did look at him, and he saw all those emotions changing to a whole shitload of different ones, he felt everything for her in that moment. Especially when he saw the love. It did him in. And before he realized she had even been moving, she was right before him, her lips just in reach of his.

The lead was his now, and he knew that. She was leaving it up to him to finish what she decided to start or to leave it there. There was only one choice for him though. So he took a chapter from her book. He said nothing in response, stared into her eyes with his own for a short moment before closing the distance and capturing her mouth with his own.

Several seconds passed as they were locked together before she broke away every so slightly and breathed his name out against his lips. "James.." and that was the end of anything else. She reached back for the flap of the tent and secured it shut before her fingers worked the buttons of his shirt.

Within moments he found himself flat on his back and he wasn't entirely sure how it got to here. But both of them had their eyes open, neither one wanting to close them for the moment in fear that it would pass them by and it all would have been make-believe. So sick derived fantasy of one of their minds. So he lifted her shirt off over her head and tossed it aside before flipping her over onto her back as his mouth feverishly sought hers once again.

When he imagined her reaction as she awakened, this hadn't been where he thought things would go. He wouldn't complain, but he'd expected to talk. He realized then that they'd based their entire relationship on how they didn't need their words to express themselves. They tended to talk with looks instead of words, with subtle touches here and there for affection.

Sex had been the last thing on his mind as he'd waited eight hours for her to wake up. Which was strange, because in the last life it was usually the first thing on his mind when he looked at her. Now he found himself _wanting _to express himself with words, because he knew he'd never told her enough. And he stopped, grabbing her hands as they reached for the button on his jeans. "Juliet.." he breathed out, resting his forehead against hers as his knees rested in the sand on either side of her.

Blue eyes sought his out and she waited, flushed and out of breath as he stared down at her. Normally the idea of this should have been embarrassing to her. The idea of attempting sex where anyone could just waltz right on in on them. But she didn't really care at this point. She just wanted _him_ again. Wanted that sensation, that feeling of warmth, of love, of fulfillment that only he'd ever given her.

She remained silent as his mouth lowered and rested directly next to her ear. And she felt chills as he breathed the next words out in that silky southern accent she'd come to adore.

"I'm _in_ love with you.." he told her. He pulled back slightly, searching her eyes and seeing no fear in them, no insecurities like he had in their previous life before they'd been torn apart by those horrific events. It was just absolute adoration.

She reached up gently, cupping his face between her hands and placing a gentle kiss on his lips. "I've never loved you more than I do right now," she told him against his lips.

And that was the end of the conversation. Within several minutes clothes were strewn across the tent and they'd connected like they never had before. They'd come together as one entity, rather then two people who loved each other. They were two people who had loved, lost yet found each other all over again. It was perfection.

**()()TBC()()**

**Wow. So, okay. I have no idea. I might have gotten a little overly passionate right there. Northern, Callen, I'll give you your Jate in the next chapter. But at least I set up the moment for Jate for you! LOL.**


	18. Handcuffs

**Look at all you little Jater's who have come out of the woodwork! Hahaha. Well, this chapter should be fun for you!**

This one's for **K. Palafox**. I think I told you I'd rather set Kate on fire then add in Jate. Well, here you go! She's not on fire, much to my dissatisfaction, but, at least you can have your Jate fix!

**Fate's a Fickle Foe**:

They laid there for what felt like forever, slightly entangled in each other. Neither was sleeping but neither was talking either.

She let her index finger trail down his chest as she rested her head on his shoulder. Finally she lifted her chin and looked at him. "You know.. you're the best thing I've had in both lives.." she told him, her eyes softening.

Sawyer locked eyes with her briefly as he took in those words. "Same goes for you," he assured her. He knew they should talk about what transpired between them when it all started going to hell in the previous life. He knew, and yet he didn't want to at the same time. He wondered if actions would speak louder then words again this time. He wondered how Jack and Kate were fairing.

And as if in answer to his question, he heard a voice outside their tent.

"Knock knock," came Miles voice. "Are you guys decent? Cause I heard Jim in there moaning earlier."

Juliet felt a smile coming to her lips. They had in fact put their clothes on not too long ago. Well, she had. He'd put on his pants and that was as far as he'd really gotten.

"C'mon in, pinhead," Sawyer told him, rolling his eyes. He watched as Miles did so and immediately took the blonde into a tight embrace. "For the record, I don't moan."

Miles snickered. "Then hell, Juliet, you sound manly.."

Juliet felt a full-on grin crack onto her lips in response and she had to say, she never appreciated Miles' sick sense of humor as much as she did right now. She pulled out of the embrace and chuckled immediately before placing a chaste kiss on his cheek. "I'm glad you're alright too, Miles."

"I've said it before, I'll say it again," Miles answered with a nod. "Your girl wants me, man."

Juliet felt her heart melting a little at the inside joke from their Dharma days. Miles had always been insistent that she 'wanted him'. And that joke had never ceased after she'd begun a relationship with Sawyer. Almost immediately she felt herself pulling Miles into a second hug. She'd thought she would never see these people again, any of them, and strange as it was to admit.. Miles and Jin had become two of the greatest friends she'd had while Sawyer had become the love of her life.

Miles felt the jokes subside a little and he smiled at her, taking a glance at Sawyer in the meantime who had a look of guilt on his face. "Missed you too, Jules," he assured her. He eyed Sawyer down a moment after Juliet released him. "So uh, Jack and Kate, they haven't woken up yet."

Sawyer arched an eyebrow. "Some people are still out?"

"Tons," Miles replied. "Guess eight hours is the average not the uh.. limit. Especially considering you guys just took an extra hour."

Juliet turned slightly red while Sawyer grinned.

Miles glanced between them. "You should see this," he told Juliet.

Juliet narrowed her eyes and looked from Miles to Sawyer. "What did you two do?"

They both grinned.

She accepted the hands of both men who led her out of the tent. Most people were quietly conversing together but had paused to look over at them. A few who had died early on sat wondering _where_ she and Miles been in the previous life. Others who had only known them a short period of time were looking at them with more then a little uncertainty. She almost remarked about it, but she stopped, frozen at the sight before her. "Oh my.. you didn't.." she muttered.

"He did it," Miles stated immediately, pointing his finger in Sawyer's direction.

Juliet stared at Sawyer with her mouth open slightly.

Sawyer shrugged and plopped down in the sand, waiting for the two to wake up. "Shit, I wish I had some popcorn at a time like this," he mumbled. "Papaya flavored, just for the full-island effect."

She watched as Miles laughed and wandered off towards Jin and Sun before she looked at Sawyer. "Do I want to know why we're sitting here?" she questioned, taking a seat beside him. "And _why_ you handcuffed them together?" and as much as she tried, she couldn't hide the amusement from her voice.

"Well.." he muttered. "Considerin' they wanted to blow up an h-bomb to forget each other," he pointed out. "I'd say they got some issues."

She studied him momentarily, trying to judge if he was actually talking about Jack and Kate or about her choice. "Tell me something," she stated. "Did you do this to actually help them, or to prove something to me?"

Sawyer shrugged a little. He should have known he wouldn't get that passed her so easily.

"You don't have to, you know," she told him. "Prove anything, I mean.. I already know that I was wrong," she assured him reaching her hand out and resting it on top of his. "I was wrong, you know that, right?"

Sawyer glanced over at her. "You had every right to be pissed," he told her. "If the roles were reversed, I 'prolly would've freaked too.."

Juliet arched an eyebrow up at him. "So.. if you'd seen me looking at Kate, you would have gotten insanely jealous?"

He coughed. He couldn't even help himself. Now _that_ wasn't something he'd imagined before. "Shit, Juliet.." he muttered, shaking his head.

She smiled. "Maybe you should uncuff them.."

He shrugged. "Can't," he admitted.

"Why not?"

"Don't have a damned key.." he told her with an innocent smile.

Her mouth dropped immediately. "I can't believe you.. you seriously handcuffed them together and you don't even have the key?" she questioned, releasing a laugh immediately. "I'm going to stay here _just_ to watch them kill you."

And before either of them had a chance to say or do anything else, they saw Kate start shifting. Juliet had a crooked smile on her face that she attempted to cover up with her hand.

Her first coherent thought was, '_shit, it worked, I'm back in handcuffs.._'. Or, it had been. Until she heard someone's snort of laughter. She had been tugging at her hand in the cuffs and finally she opened her eyes and looked over at the blonde who was trying to snuff her laughs in the palm of her hand. "Juliet?" she asked immediately, sitting up quickly and nearly tugging her arm out of its socket. For a minute she thought she was seeing ghosts and her first thought had been to go over to Juliet and see if she was real.

"What the hell?" she asked immediately, tugging her hand some more, which apparently disrupted the other party involved. Now he was moving too. "Oh no," she muttered. She looked to the blonde for help and then realized that Sawyer was sitting there as well with a devilish glint. "You guys didn't.." she mumbled. "Come on, unlock this before he wakes up!"

Juliet not-so-subtly pointed her finger in Sawyer's direction. She did feel a little bad for the brunette, but this was definitely still funny.

"Sorry," Sawyer replied with a shrug. "Not til' you two talk things out."

Juliet glanced at him and held back a laugh. He honestly wasn't going to tell them he didn't have the key?

"You're alive?"

All three looked down at Jack.

Juliet noticed his eyes were locked onto her. He hadn't even noticed the handcuffs yet. "I'm fairly certain I never died," she assured him. Causing them all to look at her.

It was only a second later, with the _clink_ of the handcuffs when Jack went to move, that _all_ four pairs of eyes went to the handcuffs locking Jack and Kate together. Juliet figured that was definitely one way to get the attention off of her.

"What's this?" Jack asked immediately, pulling his and Kate's hands into the air.

Sawyer let the smile drop from his face. "Just my way of saying, _well done_, Jackass. Your plan worked _real_ well. Seriously, it was flawless."

Juliet shot Sawyer a warning glance, which he clearly decided to ignore.

Jack looked at Kate, their hands, at Juliet, then at Sawyer. "You did this because I was _wrong_?" he asked in shock.

"No," Sawyer assured him. "I did this so you two would work out yer' damned issues," he told them. "So that way, the next time you guys decide to screw up our wonderful lives, at least you can do it with clear heads and _maybe_ just _maybe_, nobody'll get killed."

Juliet placed her hand on Sawyer's arm. "James.."

"What?" he questioned, shooting her a look. "I could beat the shit outta him again, but since he actually _saved_ your life this time, I went with the next best thing."

Juliet narrowed her eyes.

"I'm interferin' in his love life."

Jack just stared at them both, not entirely sure what to say, what to do. He looked down at Kate and noticed she was trying to pick the lock on the cuff with a bobby-pin. "Oh, so you don't _want_ to work things out?"

Kate looked up and frowned. "This," she began to answer, motioning her one hand at their cuffed hands. "Not gonna help," she stated casually and went back to work.

"Perfect," Jack replied with a roll of his eyes. "And I wanted to marry into this.. just give us the key Sawyer."

Juliet's eyes widened slightly and she managed not to say anything in response to those words. She noticed Sawyer had a slight twinkle in his eyes and she figured they _really_ shouldn't be here for this. "Come on, James.." she muttered, grabbing his hand and pulling him out of the tent. She had to tug him a little harder now as she yanked him from the tent. "Come on, clearly they have a lot to talk about, and we can find better things to do.." she assured him.

Sawyer arched both eyebrows up at her. He smirked back at Jack and Kate. "You'll get the key when you can work out yer' problems," he lied to them before following Juliet.

Kate looked up at Jack with frustration clear on her features. "I can't believe he did this.." she muttered out in disbelief.

"It's Sawyer," Jack reminded her. "I don't put anything passed him.."

"Maybe if we sit here long enough, we can go over there with smiles in a little while and he'll unlock us," she suggested.

Jack glanced outside the tent as Juliet and Sawyer both gave designated hugs to Jin with smiles on their faces. And they sat in silence for a little while. "Guess so," he agreed.

They remained silent for almost an hour. Twenty minutes ago Juliet had dragged Sawyer away from Jin, Sun and Miles. They decided that whenever they came out of their tent, they'd confront them.

"This is ridiculous.." Kate muttered.

Jack couldn't agree more.

Ten more minutes passed. Kate swore she heard moans. Who had the bright idea to stick them in the tent _right_ next to Sawyer and Juliet's?

"You know, it's weird that it's like.. all of it happened and yet, it didn't happen all at the same time," Kate finally dared to blurt out.

Jack glanced at her. "You're thinking about Aaron," he stated as a fact. "You'll always have a piece of him in your heart, Kate," he told her.

Kate nodded slightly. "I came back to find Claire, maybe this time I can make sure she doesn't go anywhere," she stated. "Jack think about it, we're back to where we started here, but not _everything_ is the same," she pointed out. "We don't know what the hell is going on this time."

He watched her, realizing she was right.

"_Because he thinks that I'm his. And he knows how I feel about you._"

"Shit.." Jack muttered, rubbing at his temples with his fingers. He'd nearly forgotten they were cuffed together until he'd dragged Kate's hand up with his own.

Kate studied his face. "What?" she questioned. "Jack, what is it?"

"Ben," Jack admitted. "He was obsessed with Juliet the _first_ time, and I think he is again.."

"Obsessed?" Kate questioned. "What do you mean obsessed with her? Obsessed _how_?"

"Sawyer's right," Jack stated. "We better work through our issues fast," he told her. "Because.. shit is about to hit the fan now that everyone remembers. How much do you want to bet the Others' remember too?"

Kate opened her mouth to respond but she snapped it shut quickly. "Forget me and you for right now, Jack," she told him. "We need to tell them, they need to know," she stated, moving to stand up.

Jack gripped her hand with his own, yanking her back down. "Kate, _wait_," he told her. "Think about it, if what I heard was true back there, in _this_ reality, Ben's been obsessed with her even longer then the last time.. something changed."

She was silent as she tried to comprehend that.

"What if Ben already remembered?" he asked.

Neither had time to respond. Because Juliet's head poked inside the tent.

"Hey, wanted to check on you guys.. you've been in here a while.." she stated.

Kate swore she heard moaning still. "Uh.. if you and Sawyer aren't, then who's in your tent?" she questioned, nodding her head towards the tent next to them.

Juliet arched an eyebrow up. "That's not our tent," she told them. "That's Sayid's."

It had been dark. They'd seen a man go in there with a blonde and not come out. Kate felt her mouth drop slightly.

Juliet glanced at the tent and heard the moan now as well. "Oh.. I see," she stated, coughing. "I like to think I'm more quiet then _that_," she admitted. "Anyways.. have fun."

Both stared at each other as Juliet walked away.

"Oh boy.." Jack muttered.

**()()TBC()()**

**Don't even ask. LOL.**


	19. Protection

**I meant to get this up earlier. But my weekend was filled with slight insanity. My bad.**

**This might even include a little more Jate.. might. Maybe. You'll find out.**

**Fate's a Fickle Foe**:

_And I don't know how, I can do without.. I just need you now._

_-----_

_And I'd rather hurt then feeling nothing at all._

**Lady Antebellum**

"He's right, you know.."

Jack looked over at Kate. A little while ago Sawyer had called them on their lie and pretty much sent them back to their tent. He felt like a teenager being scolded by his parents. This was ridiculous. Who had put him in charge? "About what?"

"Us," Kate stated with a shrug. "If we weren't fighting so much, maybe we wouldn't have ruined what they had."

"Not your fault," he pointed out. "It was my idea to go drop that stupid bomb."

Kate sighed. "Yeah, well.. I was the one who went back, got thrown on the sub and convinced them.. well.. Juliet, to come back to the island and stop you."

Jack frowned slightly. "It's not your fault Kate, and if you think about it-- look around, it actually did work out, look how many people are alive again."

"But at what cost?" Kate questioned, glancing out at the people on the beach. "Think about it.. everybody knows what happened to them last time, you know they're all wondering how long they'll live this time.." she sighed. "Face it, we don't _know _how it feels to die, and live again.."

"You mean, we don't know what it's like to lose each other to death, we.. chose, is that it?" he questioned, studying her.

"Pretty much.."

He ran his hand over his head. "Maybe this is our chance to fix it."

"Maybe.." she agreed.

"Do you want to?" he asked.

She smiled a little over at him. "When we get off this island again, if.. we get of this island again, we'll figure it out.." she told him, leaning over and kissing him chastely.

That of course, was the moment Juliet poked her head in. "Oh," she rolled her eyes. "Sorry.. well, I didn't think his little plan was actually going to work," she admitted, scratching her head.

Kate smiled a little at Juliet. "It's okay," she assured her.

"Well, I was feeling bad," she admitted. "James didn't really have a key to those handcuffs," she explained, and watched as both their faces contorted slightly. "Oh.. don't worry," she stated, putting her hands up defensively. "I remembered there was one in my pocket from uh.. back at.. the Hydra.."

Both their faces showed relief.

She shrugged slightly and held her hand out for their hands cuffed hands. "Here, let me unlock you."

"Thanks, Juliet.." Kate whistled out softly. Once the blonde released them she glanced over at Jack. "I'll be right back.. maybe you should tell her, Jack.."

Juliet studied the two carefully. "Tell me what?"

"I will," Jack agreed. "You telling Sawyer?"

"Yeah."

He nodded.

Juliet watched as Kate walked out and she looked back at Jack. "What do you guys need to tell us?" she asked immediately.

"Tell me.. did you ever tell Sawyer about Ben?" Jack asked her.

"What?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Did you tell him what you told me?" he asked her. "Juliet, did you tell Sawyer that Ben was obsessed with you, that he thought you were his?"

She hesitated now. "I--" she paused again.

"You didn't.."

"We were in the _seventies_, Jack.. it hardly seemed relevant.."

He stared at her now. "You told me, if you loved him, love him.." he corrected. "Why didn't you tell him?"

"I told _you_ because you needed to know," she reminded him. "Ben was here, there was a chance he'd--" she froze. She locked eyes with Jack immediately. "You think Ben.. you think he.."

"If all of us do.." Jack suggested. And he felt bad, seeing the slight fear capture her features.

She glanced away, looking out of the tent and over in Sawyer's direction. She noticed he was looking directly at her. He didn't know before, but from the look on his face, he definitely knew now. She looked away almost immediately, staring at the sand. There was nowhere else to look. "I can't do this again, Jack.." she told him. "I can't lose him all over again."

"You won't," he assured her, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Look around Jack," she stated, obviously frustrated. "Things may be different, but if you think about it, it's _exactly_ the same.. I wound up working for Ben, I escaped with your help--"

"Hey, relax," Jack said immediately.

She shook her head. "I can't, I can't relax, he'll _kill_ him, he's killed to keep me before Jack, he'll do it again.. he'll prove I'm his again."

"I have a plan," he assured her quickly.

"You have a plan.." she whispered, shaking her head. "You _always_ have a plan.."

"It'll work."

"I don't believe that anymore," she admitted, standing up and exiting his tent.

Jack watched her go, and he locked eyes with Kate down the beach as Sawyer left her side as well, clearly going to follow Juliet down the beach. He simply shook his head at her.

~*~*~

It took several minutes for Sawyer to catch up to her. She was racing, nearly running down the beach. He felt like he was chasing her through the jungle all over again. And just as last time he reached out, grabbing hold of her hand. "Juliet--"

She turned, looking at him and stopping her escape.

He was glad it wasn't just like last time he chased her. That she didn't slap his hands off of her and fight him on whatever was about to go on. "Why didn't you ever tell me?" he asked softly, placing his hand on her cheek.

"I never.. I just, I didn't think we'd ever come back," she admitted, shaking her head. "So.. I didn't think it mattered anymore. He was gone.. I didn't think I'd have to worry about him and you.."

A frown was featured on his face now. "I thought we told each other everything.. no secrets.." he pointed out to her.

"We did-- I mean, we do.." she corrected herself. "I'm sorry, James.. I should've--"

He chuckled, cutting her off. He rested his forehead against hers. "It don't matter now.." he muttered. "I don't wanna fight, Jules.." he chided. "I just wanted to know why."

She smiled sadly. "Jack has a plan.."

"What else is new?" Sawyer muttered.

She chuckled. "I said pretty much the same thing to his face.."

"Did you really?" he asked in a laugh.

Juliet nodded, smiling a little more.

"That's why I love ya'," he reminded her.

She met his eyes with her own, and after a moment she brought her lips against his, tangling her hand in his slowly growing locks of hair. "I miss your hair.." she muttered against his lips.

He grinned. "Good thing it grows back.." he reminded her.

"Fair enough," she settled, kissing him once more.

And he wondered why suddenly she was kissing him as though her life depended on it. Wondered, until the pain struck him in the head and everything went black.

Juliet glanced around the beach and made a note that nobody was nearby. She leaned down, placing her hand on his cheek with one hand and tucking the gun back into the waistband of her jeans. "I'm so sorry, James.." she whispered, caressing his face. "I'd rather live without you then see you get hurt.." she admitted to the air. She placed a lingering kiss on his lips and stood, darting off into the jungle and not daring to look back. She knew if she did, she'd lose her nerve.

~*~*~

"There!"

"Hey man, wake up," Miles growled out, shaking Sawyer. He watched as the conman slowly groaned and began to say up. "What the hell happened to you?"

Sawyer frowned, trying to think about that. "Not a damned clue.." he muttered. "One second.. kissin' Juliet, and she seemed-- sonuvabitch.." he scowled. "She freakin' knocked me out."

"What?!" Miles questioned in disbelief. "Why the hell would she do that?"

"To protect him.."

Both men looked over at Jack.

"I know where she's going," Jack admitted. "She's going back to the barracks.. back to--"

"Ben.." Sawyer finished for him. He ran his hands over his face in frustration. "Dammit.."

"Let's follow her," Kate suggested.

Jack locked eyes with her for a moment. They both nodded slightly. "She's right, it's late.." he reminded Sawyer. "If we're lucky she'll stop to take a break, she hasn't been gone too long. You guys were only gone a half-hour when we came looking.." he explained. "We can still catch up to her."

"Well.. let's get goin'.." he muttered.

"We are coming as well."

The four of them, Miles, Sawyer, Jack and Kate all looked over at Jin and Sun.

Sawyer felt himself smiling a little.

"She is.. my friend too," Jin reminded them.

Sawyer nodded his head slightly. "Well hell.. let's get goin'.." he stated with a small smile.

**()()TBC()()**

**I hope that Jate was a little better then my previous Jate. LOL. I apologize to you Jate people, I really don't know how to write their pairing. So.. that's the best I can do for now.**


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